Project Gold
by Dead-Rogs
Summary: An alternate and much more gritty version of the same Roald Dahl tale. Charlie and his Grandpa Joe are in a much worse state of living, and the four bad children are far more vile than their book, and film, counterparts. A project I've been working on for a while and have put a lot of effort into, I sincerely hope you enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1: Introduction

Grandpa George was dead.

Grandma Josephine was dead.

Mrs Bucket was dead.

Mr Bucket was dead.

Grandma Georgina was dying.

The only light that still shone in Charlie's life, was his Grandpa Joe. Although, that was an old, worn down bulb, and even that was getting dimmer and dimmer as days went by. When this light went out, so did little Charlie's.

He'd never met his Grandma Josephine, she'd died only a week before Charlie was born. Many would say it was fortunate that she didn't have to outlive her daughter, Joanne Bucket, who died giving birth to Charlie. In the space of a week, old Joseph Bucket had lost his wife and daughter.

Joseph Bucket was a man who had fought proudly in World War II, he'd killed men in his past, he'd lost friends by the many. None of that compared to the pain he felt in that week. There was a silver lining though. Two lives were lost, but one was created. Joseph loved this little boy with the combined love of the wife and daughter he had lost, and he would not allow him to share their fate.

Mr Bucket had to find some source of income, the toothpaste factory he previously worked at had layed him off, due to his work rate getting slower by the day, and his attitude and tolerance depleting along with it. He had not told them about the losses he had sustained within his family, doing so would get his family into a lot of trouble. Trouble they didn't need.

Mr Bucket's plan at getting money for the family was a risky one, too risky. He got himself and his family involved with the wrong people, and as he should've expected, it didn't end how he'd have hoped. The entire Bucket household went up in flames. Joseph Bucket rescued little baby Charlie, and whilst Grandpa George attempted to do the same with his wife Georgina, the ceiling collapsed and put an end to the rescue. George was lost under the rubble, whilst Georgina could still be saved, however not without severe burns and scars, and a brain that now only half functioned. Mr Bucket thought he had nothing to lose, but on that day, Charlie lost his house, his grandfather, and his own dad.

Charlie was raised by his Grandpa Joe, and partly by his Grandma Georgina, in a new, poorly made shack that barely stood in the nearby junkyard. They were fairly well hidden from the public eye too. When trucks came by to add to the sky scraping mountains of rubbish, they never noticed the three poor, dirt coated figures taking refuge under it all. Besides, there were other things far more dazzling to look at in that very village, especially the sight they could all see from just a few blocks away.

The largest Chocolate Factory in the whole world stood there, staring right at them. It's tallest chimney was obscured from view by the clouds. Each of its windows were bigger and brighter than the moon. It was so big in fact that you could barely see any sky from looking in that direction, it was obscured from view by the great sight. And whilst it was a good distance away from the poor family, it seemed like it was right next to them. Not just from the sight, but from the smell too. That rich and wonderful smell of melting chocolate drowned out the smell of the rubbish from the tip. It was like every item in the junkyard was made of chocolate.

If only, Charlie Bucket thought.

He was eight years old now, but he'd gone through more trouble and turmoil than most people would have if they lived a hundred times over. He didn't complain about it, he didn't ask for charity, he simply made do. He inhaled the wonderful smell that came from the chocolate factory, as he looked at it with wide, adoring eyes.

The Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, the largest in the world. What he'd give to take just one look into the magnificent place. Unfortunately, he didn't have much that he could give.

Charlie had at one point had blonde hair, now it was strewn with the same colours of the rubbish that surrounded him. It was like his own personal junkyard that sat messily on the top of his head and around his ears. His ribs could be quite easily seen through his thin, pale skin, and his thin, pale skin could be quite easily seen through his ragged old jumper, torn to peices and covered in dirt. His Grandma Georgina had knitted it for him, and whilst it itched at him and irritated his neck, it was still the most comfortable top in his wardrobe.

It was the only top in his wardrobe.

The one thing that stood out from the small, dirty, unpleasant looking figure that was Charlie Bucket, were his bright blue eyes. Among this sea of dirty brown and pale white, were two glowing, adorable pearls that shared the colour of the sky. No matter how dirty he became, they would always remain shining.

They were filled with hope. Through all of the pain, suffering and misery Charlie had been through, he continued to dream. He continued to hope. As he looked at the colossal Chocolate Factory everyday as he woke up, he knew...

_'Anything is possible.'_


	2. Chapter 2: The Tales of Joseph Bucket

**First of all I'd like to thank Jammy Dodger for the review, I appreciate it a lot, it really gives me motivation. I'd also like to thank anyone else who reads this story, and plans on reading more of it in the future.**

**Also a special thanks to QAS, who actually produced a fan fiction of their own which I read with uppermost interest, and look forward to reading it in the future when more is produced. I'm glad I have a fan in you, and will be more than happy to continue this story for your entertainment!**

**I'd very much appreciate that if you are a fan of this story and have any ideas for me, you give me a review and let me know. I'd like to see what direction people wish for my story to head in.**

**So thankyou all, and here is Chapter 2!**

* * *

Joseph Bucket's cold, bony fingers traced over the lid of the dirty silver pocket watch. It flicked open with a little amount of pressure from his thumb, and there inside it, staring back at him, was a picture of his wife and daughter. Their smiles brought a smile to the face of Joe's. They did everytime he looked at it.

Josephine Bucket, Josephine Essel at the time of their meeting, the most adoringly beautiful woman he'd ever layed eyes upon. Within only short months of meeting each other, they were married, and soon expecting their first child. Joseph went off to fight in the World War at the time before he could even witness the birth of his baby. Joanne if it was a girl, John if it was a boy. Joseph came back to a beautiful baby girl, Joanne Bucket. After all he'd been through in the war, after all the friends he lost, all the men he had killed, seeing his baby girl put a smile on his face, a smile he hadn't held since he left for the War.

They were both gone now, his wonderful wife and proud baby girl. She was so proud of her household name in fact, that she kept it upon getting married, her husband actually changed his name. There are enough Smiths in the country anyway, not many Buckets. Not many Buckets...that much was true...there was only two of them left...

Speak of the devil. Grandpa Joe craned his aching neck upwards to see his young pride and joy, Charlie Bucket, standing before him. Charlie took a seat in front of his Grandpa, on a small and uncomfortable pile of rubbish, as he crossed his legs and looked at his Grandpa with interest. He sat like a toddler in a nursery awaiting story time, and Grandpa Joe knew why. Because it WAS story time.

"Grandpa Joe," spoke the eight year old boy with a voice traced with gold, "Why do you sit looking away from the Chocolate Factory? It's magical to look at!"

Joe smiled "Why, my boy, it's so you can look at it when I tell you my stories."

Joseph spoke with fake enthusiasm, as he loved to see Charlie smile, it made his insides glow. Never to the point where he could share the same excitement as his Grandson however. It was his duty to keep the boy smiling, and he'd do anything it takes to ensure that would happen.

"Can you tell me about Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory again please Grandpa?"

Joe smiled, he had predicted it. "Again? I only told you that one two days ago!"

"I know Grandpa...but I like to hear it!" proclaimed the boy with glee, as he looked up at the marvelous factory before him. "Tell me the scary one! About Prince Pondicherry!"

"Hmm...I should've never told you about that one, you've taken a very strange liking to it..."

"Oh please Grandpa Joe! Please!" begged the boy, "It's one of my favourites!"

"Go on then" said the Grandpa with a smile, "but don't blame me if you have bad dreams..."

Charlie gave a joking roll of his eyes, and a laugh. Charlie had a lot more to have nightmares about than just a little story, but even then, he didn't. He slept soundlessly, Joe didn't know how the little boy did it.

"So, once upon a time...there was an Indian Prince named Paandu Pondicherry, a very rich prince may I say. He was so rich in fact, that he had one of the largest palaces in the whole of India!"

Grandpa Joe hadn't realised it, but he was up on his feet, acting the story out. It was almost like muscle memory now, for the amount of times he had done it. The more enthusiastic he got with his tales, the more Charlie was interested. And with the boy's eyes, you could tell he was already lost within his Grandpa's story.

"Even with this great palace, Paandu Pondicherry STILL wanted more. He contacted Willy Wonka, the world's greatest Chocolatier, and he asked him..."

Grandpa Joe cleared his throat, and with his best Indian accent, spoke the next part. "Mr. Wonka!" Charlie guffawed, "I wish for you to make me a palace, as big as the one I have now, made entirely out of chocolate! I want everything in it to be 100% chocolate! Whether it be dark or light, it doesn't matter! Just make it happen."

Charlie couldn't help himself, almost hypnotised by the tale, he spoke "And Mr. Wonka did it..."

"Yes Charlie! Yes he did! Mr. Wonka not only completed this impossible task, but he did it within the space of only two weeks. Paandu Pondicherry had his chocolate palace, made to every detail that he asked for it. He barely even thanked Mr. Wonka for the work he'd put him through, but the Chocolatier didn't wish for a thankyou, he only wished to warn the crazy Indian Prince..."

Grandpa Joe now put on a new voice to sound like Willy Wonka, he hadn't seen or heard the Chocolatier in the last twenty years, so this voice was completely made up. "Now Paandu, I've made your palace, but you must get eating immediately, or else!"

'"Nonsense!" barked back Prince Pondicherry "I don't intend to eat my palace! Mr. Wonka...I am going to LIVE in it!"'

"Mr. Wonka tried explaining the downsides of this decision to the Prince, but he wouldn't listen. He trotted off, ignoring the orders of the Chocolatier, and took to living in his palace."

Charlie spoke up again "Until one day..."

"Yes...until one day, where Paandu Pondicherry and his Princess were both sitting back in their chocolate bed, watching a program on their chocolate television, that had somehow been hooked up via chocolate wires. On that fateful day, a boiling heat wave passed through the whole of India, and Paandu Pondicherry's chocolate palace...began to melt. Along with everything else in the palace, the chocolate ceiling collapsed, and crashed down hard upon the two rich lovers, crushing them where they lay! And that was it for the Mad Indian Prince...punished for his greed!"

"He should've listened to Mr. Wonka..."

"Yes, he should've. Although, Mr. Wonka didn't have time to greive his Indian friend, he was having problems of his own..."

"Slotreen Slugworth!" grunted Charlie, speaking the name like it was forbidden.

"Yes, Slotreen Slugworth!" repeated Joe in the same tone, "The man who ruined Willy Wonka!"

"He sent spies into Willy Wonka's factory, and stole all of his greatest inventions!" barked back Charlie, almost getting upset.

"Yes indeed. Willy Wonka made marvellous inventions, some that many couldn't believe existed. Ice cream that never melted, chewing gum that never lost it's flavour, toffees that made your tongue glow the colour of gold...but by the end of the month, Slotreen Slugworth had all of these inventions, and were selling them in his own market. Mr. Wonka was ruined...he had to send home all of his workers, as he was closing down his factory to avoid the theft of his inventions."

"And Slotreen Slugworth went out of business!"

"That he did, everyone got angry at him for shutting down Wonka's Factory, and so his products went unbought. His own shop was closed down within the fortnight! It was because of him, that Wonka stopped the production of his Chocolate forever!"

"But he didn't!"

"No! He didn't! Because only five years later, the Chocolate Factory came back to life! Everyone could hear machines whirring, and cogs grinding, and smoke started to rise from the chimneys again. Wonka's factory, the biggest in the entire world, was back into production!"

"And the figures in the windows!"

"Yes, there were figures that could be seen in the windows, workers perhaps? That's what people thought, they thought they could get their old jobs back...but they couldn't. Wonka wasn't hiring anymore, his factory gates were still locked shut. Only chocolate came out of that place from then on, not even Willy Wonka made public appearances anymore."

"And still now! No one knows who the shadows are!"

"That's right, people have always wondered who the shadows in the windows are, it has always remained a mystery. Another mystery is what the insides of the Chocolate Factory even look like nowadays...and chances are...no one will ever find out."


	3. Chapter 3: Breaking News

**Thanks to those who have been reading my story so far, especially those who have provided reviews, it really helps give me motivation. I'll make sure to try and reply to your reviews as well, especially if you have any questions or critiques. Even if you haven't been giving reviews, I'd like to thank you for even taking your time to read it.**

**The QAS: Yeah, I always had the theory that Prince Pondicherry probably died, but the Grandparents decided to sugarcoat the story for Charlie. In my version though, he doesn't need anything sugarcoated, he can deal with it. And awesome, I really look forward to it.**

**Guest: Thank you very much, I very much plan on making more :)**

**This chapter is a little different. I went a bit more into the description, and at one point it gets a tad odd, but it's mainly because I wanted to highlight the childlike tendencies of Charlie. He's a little boy, he's going to think like a little boy would, especially with the imagination that he has.**

**Anyway, here it is, Chapter 3.**

* * *

Everyday, Grandpa Joe and Charlie would scavenge the bins of their area, hoping to find scraps of food that were still fresh, or maybe even newspapers that were reasonably current so they could catch up on the news. Although, Charlie would always go on a route that took him by the TV store, where numbers of televisions would be sitting in the window, and all day long they would broadcast the news. So Charlie would sit there, on the pavement outside the shop window, and watch for perhaps half an hour a day. It was interesting to look at, plus he then had enough information to report back to his Grandpa Joe and Grandma Georgina after that time.

His favourite part about the route however, and at the same time his least favourite, was walking by the local sweet shop, that sold Wonka's goods. It was his favourite part because he could see all the wonderful and colourful sweets that the shop sold, as they were dotted along the shelves and across the counter. However, it was his least favourite because he knew he could eat none of it. Mind you, it certainly couldn't be worse than looking at the largest chocolate factory in the world everyday as you awoke. Charlie had only tasted chocolate once in his entire life, and it was when he was very small. It was a taste that Charlie could remember distinctly, a most wonderful taste, one that he'd want nothing more than to taste again.

Charlie couldn't remember much from when he was very young, and if it wasn't for the pictures, he would have completely forgotten the faces of his father and Grandpa George. But that chocolate, he'd remember that right up until the day he died. A day closer than the boy would hope.

One person Charlie never forgot or neglected though, was his Grandma Georgina. She was the highest priority, or at least in Charlie's eyes. She would lay down all day, sleeping soundlessly with a dopey smile on her face, a torn and dirty blanket only covering her upper half. She lie on a mattress infested with all sorts of creatures and insects, but she was hardly one to care, or one to know. Since the house fire, Georgina Smith was barely able to form sentences that made any sort of sense any more, but she was still looked after and cared for and made to feel loved. Throughout the day, whenever he was home, Charlie would be by her side, cuddling up to her.

Any other boy his age would flinch at the sight of the woman, as it was quite evident she was ugly. The skin on her face was a bed of burns and scars. Her shrivelled nose sat in a nasty way, her eyelids were almost glued closed, and one of her eyes was a milky white where her vision had disappeared. Though with how Charlie looked at her, with those wonderful and adoring eyes made of the sky, you would think she looked as charming and adorable as he did. Charlie would sit by her side whenever he could, listening to her ramble on about stories that even she couldn't make sense of. But he'd sit there, and act as though they were as interesting as the tales that his Grandpa told him.

"Ooh...you're mother...what a wonderful man I told him..." she would croak in her old and wearing voice, "It's not everyday you get to just...".

She'd stop then. It was common for her to just pause mid sentence, then forget what she was trying to say, so just stop talking. Sometimes she said some ridiculous things, sometimes Charlie and even Grandpa Joe would guiltily laugh at them, but never in front of her. They loved the old woman to pieces, and their hearts would tear in two if they ever believed that they hurt her feelings.

"Proud she was...very proud...never seen something quite like it..."

Sometimes she did make sense, sort of. Charlie believed that at points she did know what she was talking about, but she just struggled finding out how to phrase the words. Maybe she focussed so much on trying to make sense of it, she forgot what the original topic even was.

"Buckets...The Buckets...Buckets and Smiths...once a Smith, now a Bucket..."

Grandma Georgina would eventually talk her way to sleep. Charlie would keep by her side for a little longer, sometimes he'd fall asleep with her and when Grandpa Joe was feeling generous, he would leave the two where they were and do the chores by himself. But some days, most days in fact, Charlie was needed, and so after she was deep in dreams, Charlie would slip away and join his Grandpa to go off through the streets.

Today was a day where Joseph was feeling generous. Charlie was allowed to sleep, he thought, Grandpa Joe could manage on his own. He was old but he still functioned perfectly well. Charlie's last moments awake were gazing upon Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, and as usual, it appeared in his dreams as well. The boy would dream that he himself was Willy Wonka, and that he, his Grandpa Joe, and Grandma Georgina, all lived in the Chocolate Factory. They would spend all day eating the chocolate that the factory produced, before finally falling to sleep on the most comfortable beds made of chocolate. Ones that could never melt, mind, a repeat of the Paandu Pondicherry incident was the last thing this family needed.

Charlie could remember one day when he sat and watched the TV's through the TV shop window, it was a slow News Day apparently, so they had a documentary on instead. Charlie saw little small animals, they looked like birds, they had black fur, with white bellies, and bright yellow beaks like the sun. Penguins, he believes they were called. Charlie wondered if those were perhaps what Wonka had in his factory, if those were the small shadows in the windows, as they were around the same size. Charlie had come up with that theory all by himself, he was quite proud of it. He told his Grandpa Joe and he had told him it may just be true, perhaps Willy Wonka has Penguins do all of his work for him.

And in this dream that Charlie was having, it was Penguins that were there. Charlie had befriended them all, and they all greeted him in the morning and bid him farewell at night. They made chocolate together, and cooked meals together, and talked together, and played together. They did human things and Penguin things alike, and sometimes they would have sleep overs in each others rooms, where they would stay up later than usual playing some more and eating chocolate.

Joseph Bucket had laughed upon originally hearing the theory. He hadn't laughed at Charlie in a ridiculous way, not at all. Granted, Penguins certainly weren't the answer, but why spoil the boy's fun? Any other child at Charlie's age, living the life that Charlie had lived, wouldn't even have half the imagination that this boy had. Grandpa Joe wondered how on earth this boy, who'd never had anything magical or slightly miraculous happen to him in his whole life, could have an imagination so wide. He always took an overly large liking to Grandpa Joe's stories, he always wondered if it was these magical tales that spurred on the boy's great mind.

Sometimes Charlie would explain thoughts and ideas for new inventions Willy Wonka could create in his chocolate factory. Some of them were actually very nice and pleasant sounding as well, perhaps it was Joe's starving and empty belly talking, but he wouldn't mind giving any of those a try. In fact, they sounded just like something Willy Wonka would create himself. If only Charlie wasn't in these surroundings, if only he could live a normal person's life. That boy would go far.

Grandpa Joe thought all of this as he wondered through the streets of his village. Passing the TV store, and passing Wonka's Sweet Shop that Charlie loved so much. He'd not found much in the bins on his way. He'd found one bag of Pork Scratchings, and that was all. They were opened up, but the bag was still reasonably filled. He presumed that the reason for their disposal was due to one of the pork scratchings having a couple of hairs still on it. Joe would just pluck those right off and they'd be fine for Charlie to eat. The word 'waste' didn't exist in their vocabularies.

No luck. Joseph had reached the end of the village, and that day hadn't been a good day for findings. The gates of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory signified the end of the search. Joseph would stop and look up at it, his neck having to creek up at almost ninety degrees just to see as much of it as he could, and even then, the tops of the tallest chimneys still couldn't be seen through the clouds. Grandpa Joe admired the place almost as much as Charlie did.

The sky was getting darker by the time Grandpa Joe started to head back, he imagined Charlie and Georgina were still sleeping, and he wasn't planning on waking them. He was getting a bit drowsy himself to be fair. Very drowsy actually. His steps were getting slower, his eyes were beginning to close. Grandpa Joe could've fallen to sleep there and then on the spot...so comfortable he'd be...

"BREAKING NEWS!"

Joseph's ears pricked upwards, and his eyes jumped back open. He turned himself to take a look where he was, right next to the TV store, with the numerous TVs through the window all displaying the same image. A news reporter was on screen, looking awfully giddy. Grandpa Joe was immediately interested.

"Willy Wonka! The world's greatest chocolatier! Owner of the world's largest Chocolate Factory, tells the public that he will be opening his Chocolate Factory doors again, for the first time in 20 years, to a LUCKY five people!"

Joseph was glued in place. He didn't even notice the crowd that had gathered around him, he was simply awestruck by the news. 'Charlie!' he thought, 'CHARLIE!'.

"Yes!" the news reporter continued, "Mr. Wonka has said that five Golden Tickets have been hidden under the wrapping paper of the five Wonka Bars, that can be found anywhere, in any country, in any city, in any shop where Wonka Bars are sold. If you find one of these Golden Tickets, then you will be one of the five admitted into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, to see what it is like as of today."

There and then, the entire crowd that surrounded Joe were gone, dashing down the street towards the nearby Sweet Shop, all of them ragging their purses out of their bags, and wallets out of their pockets. Grandpa Joe was the only one still stood watching the TVs. His mind was glowing gold, he imagined Charlie with one of those Golden Tickets in his hands. He imagined those bright blue eyes growing even brighter with hope. He imagined Charlie's dreams coming true. He looked back at the window, looking at the screen in the middle. The News Reporter looked right at the camera, and it looked eerily like he was just looking at Grandpa Joe...

"So, could you be one of the five lucky winners?" he said.

Reality settled back in. As Joseph answered this question, his excitement slowly faded away.

'No' he thought, 'No we couldn't'.


	4. Chapter 4: Greed

**Again, thanks to everyone who reads this story and enjoys it. I also very much appreciate the reviews, and if you are a fan of this story, I really urge you to just give me a review. Let me know you're there, let me know what you like and what you think needs improving. Because honestly, it really does give me so much motivation when I see a new review.**

**Yuu: Thanks so much, I'll make sure to keep the updates frequent. Hopefully I can keep it at a steady pace, especially in the next two weeks being that it's the Easter holidays. Expect a couple of chapters to be coming out in that time frame.**

**I'd also like to thank Cosanlou, for being the first (and so far only) follower of this story, and also my first follower on Fan Fiction ever. I really appreciate it, thank you so much. If you do enjoy this story, I'd very much appreciate that you could also give it a follow as well, as I do plan to update frequently, and again, it really does motivate me.**

**Anyway, without delay, here is Chapter 4! **

**Where we get into a bit more of the action...**

* * *

"OH GRANDPA JOE! DO YOU THINK THIS IS IT? DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHAT COULD CHANGE EVERYTHING?"

Ever since Grandpa Joe had told Charlie, the boy hadn't stopped jumping around. He was like a hurricane whizzing around the junkyard in a fit of excitement. Joseph had pondered on whether or not to tell Charlie, whether to get his hopes up or not, as he knew that there wasn't a chance that he could get a Golden Ticket. He decided it would be best that he told him. He would have found out eventually, and plus Joe wanted to see the boy's face when he did. He wanted to see the boy happy, he wanted to see the boy filled with hope and joy.

And that he did.

"WE HAVE TO SORT OUT A PLAN GRANDPA JOE!" Charlie boomed gleefully, "So! Right! When we go on our routes, we have to be EXTRA careful! We have to look out for any change or coins that may have been dropped on the floor. That way we'll be able to save up for a Wonka Bar, and it might even have a Golden Ticket inside!"

Joseph smiled, you'd think the boy had spent more than a week devising this plan. Only five minutes ago had Joe told him the news, and already he was on the chalkboard.

"I'll keep us up to date on the news." the boy continued, "The TV store is BOUND to be broadcasting the news all day now, there certainly won't be any slow news days. So, I'll keep us up to date on if a Golden Ticket is found before us!"

"Sounds good Charlie." Grandpa Joe replied with a smile.

"Brilliant." croaked Grandma Georgina from her mattress.

Charlie took a look upwards at the gigantic chocolate factory that filled his vision, and did so with the biggest smile on his face that Joe had ever seen. Through his entire life, Charlie put on a brave face, he refused to let negativity show. But he knew how terrible his life truly was. He knew just like his Grandpa Joe did. Charlie would live a short and painful life, and he was well aware of this fact.

But now, he had a way out of it.

Now, he had a chance to go from nothing to everything. Not only did he want one, but he needed a Golden Ticket more than anyone else in the world. And by god, Joseph Bucket would do anything to help Charlie on this quest.

Charlie reached forward and hugged his Grandpa Joe for the tenth time since he'd heard the news, each more warm and comforting than the last. Charlie tilted his head to look at his Grandpa with those blue eyes.

"Grandpa Joe! Do you think I'll find one? A Golden Ticket?"

Joseph gulped.

"Charlie..."

He took a deep breath.

"...I think you have a good of a chance as anybody!"

Charlie smiled again, and Grandpa Joe pushed forth a fake one. He'd let him down gently when the time came. He'd let the boy have his fun now, then he'd calm him down a bit when it started to come to an end. No need to ruin it yet.

"Right! LET'S GO!" Charlie boomed with joy as he ran off, pulling his Grandpa with him by the hand.

As the pair made their way down the street on their venture, Joseph noticed something. Something that Charlie was too eager and blinded with excitement to notice. The street was filled to the brim with vacated cars. Everyone with the same intents upon hearing the news. They all got in their cars and drove to the local sweet shop, just to all end up in the same traffic jam, so they found it in their best interest to continue on foot. Car doors were still left open, keys still in ignitions, yet no one was stealing the cars. A new car was the least of importance in comparison to what was just down the road.

"Make sure to look under all of the cars Grandpa Joe" squeaked Charlie as he bent down and peered under them.

Grandpa Joe started to get less and less enthused as the pair neared the sweet shop. People would barge past them, hands filled with Wonka Bars, as they would dive into a car that didn't even look to be theirs and attempt to drive off. Grandpa Joe got close to Charlie, taking his hand in his own. Charlie looked up at his grandpa, confused.

"Grandpa Joe, if we split up we can cover more ground." he spoke.

"No Charlie, stay with me now, we'll cover ground together." Joseph replied.

"Oh...ok..."

Charlie walked next to his Grandpa Joe now, looking a little more worried. He too started to notice the oddities, and as he did, he held his Grandpa Joe's hand tighter. As they got closer and closer to the sweet shop, more and more people began to emerge in their path, running back and forth, some with hands full of money, and some with hands full of chocolate.

When they eventually reached the sweet shop, it was not what either of them expected.

The entirety of the street was mayhem. The sweet shop window was smashed through, littering glass all over the pavement and the store shelves. People were hungrily dashing in and out, filling their hands with Wonka goods before attempting to escape. If they were lucky, they wouldn't be tackled down to the floor, before having the chocolate stolen from their grip.

A mixture of chocolate and money was scattered along the floor, most of it being picked up by hungry citizens before it could even sit for more than a second. Many unlucky people were lying on the concrete, bloodied and unconscious from the fights they'd engaged in. Some people were being dragged out of their cars as they tried to make their escape, only to join the sea of battered and bruised people that lay along the street. It was a battle royal of brutality, violence, and greed.

"Oh my god..." uttered Charlie, his voice filled with shock and sadness.

Joseph clutched Charlie's hand hard in his, as the two of them watched in shock from a distance. This isn't what he wanted to see, nor was it what Charlie wanted. Who could have predicted that this is what would happen? A simple competition turning the streets into a brawl. It just goes to show what greed can do...

Grandpa Joe wasn't completely innocent himself. He was convinced he may be able to run in and take a Wonka Bar off of the ground, but it seemed too risky with the amount of people. Grandpa Joe could see one man beating another man's face in towards the back. He hoped Charlie hadn't seen it. What if something like that were to happen to him, if someone were to target him like they had done that man and many of the others, where would that leave Charlie? No, for the safety and well being of his grandson, he'd need to get out of here. They'd need to go back home to the junkyard.

"Charlie, this isn't safe...come on, let's go."

Charlie's eyes were locked on a single Wonka Bar lying on its lonesome in the middle of the road. No one was around it. No one had noticed it. It surely must have slipped out of someone's grip and slid out of reach. Charlie could just quickly run over and grab it.

"Grandpa Joe..."

"Charlie, we need to go!"

"Look at that one there...on its own...no one has seen it..."

"CHARLIE! NO! We're going back home! NOW!"

"But Grandpa Joe! I could just grab it and no one would even see me! It could have the Golden Ticket in it!"

"Charlie! You're being greedy! Think about Prince Pondicherry! Look at what greed did to him!"

Charlie knew the story, he had it recited to him every other day. But he wasn't asking for a Chocolate Palace...he was just asking for one Wonka Bar. That ONE Wonka Bar that he could so easily run over and take. In fact, in the time he had been arguing with his Grandpa Joe, he could have gotten it by now. He looked around the crowd of people...

Still, no one had noticed it.

Yet Charlie did nothing.

Deep down inside, he knew it was wrong. After the stories Grandpa Joe had recited to him, he knew that nothing good came from being greedy. If Charlie were to get a Golden Ticket, it would not happen out of just sheer greed.

As soon as Charlie thought this, just like that, the Wonka Bar was noticed by not one, but two people. They both charged for it, with one of them crashing a fist into the jaw of the other, sending him down into the concrete. The one still standing laughed as he took the Wonka Bar into his hand, immediately ripping off the wrapping paper in hopes of finding that Golden opportunity.

Just chocolate.

"Let's go home Grandpa Joe." spoke Charlie, his voice soft and scarce, "We'll try again tomorrow."


	5. Chapter 5: Just Big Boned

**Ok, so this chapter was actually supposed to go out this morning but it seemed that Fan Fiction was having some issues, it's fixed now though and it's not too late. Again I'd like to thank everyone who is reading and reviewing this story, and if you truly do enjoy it, I implore you to follow.**

**Turrislucidus: Thanks for the double review! Yeah, I really want to push forth a moral with this story that, whilst it may already be obvious, I don't wish to reveal just yet. Mr Bucket's demise is an example of this moral in play, as is Paandu Pondicherry's. Also, yes, I purposely wrote, or re-wrote rather, the story of Prince Pondicherry to give this feel of foreshadowing towards the four bad children. Also, his first name, which is a new addition to my story, was chosen to be Paandu, which has strong links to Pandu, the ancient Indian epic, and father to the Pandavas. If you're wondering who the are, which I don't blame you for doing so, The Pandavas were five brothers, and whilst they had a long and rather adventurous story, all but one of them met their end when they went on a journey through the Himalayas. Five people narrowed down to one? Sounds familiar.**

**Anyway, this here is Chapter 5, where things kick in a bit. Sorry if this story has been going a bit slow paced for you, but I don't want to rush through what I believe to be details, I want to make sure I can make this story as effective as possible. The story is already well known, so I really need to jump into the characters and sub plots (almost) to make this story as engaging as possible, because otherwise people are just re-reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory again, and that may cause many to tune out. Because honestly, I know I would.**

* * *

Many days had passed since the golden news had been given to the world, and in those days, something golden was yet to emerge. A ticket had yet to be found, and whilst everyone wanted to be the first to find one, Charlie wanted to most of all. The last week and a half had been spent routing through the streets with his Grandpa Joe, looking for any money that could've been dropped and left to be snatched up by either the boy or the pensioner, but it seemed everyone else had the same plan. Even the world's billionaires, those who had money and wealth oozing from their pockets, still wanted to open a Wonka Bar and be faced with gold through the wrapper. It came as no surprise that even though people had plenty of money, they were still scavenging any more of it they could find on the ground, an extra possibility at getting that once in a lifetime oppurtunity. Unfortunately, due to this shared mentality, it only left Charlie and his Grandpa Joe with a minimal finding of 6 pence, one penny of which Grandpa Joe almost had to get into a fist fight over, luckily he had talked his way out of it.

Although, things had calmed down since the day the news was spread. Charlie and his Grandpa had left before the police arrived on the scene, and it wasn't a pretty sight. The hard end of the baton, the cold handcuffs and the back seat of a police car claimed more than enough victims on that day, and Charlie was glad he didn't have to see it. The sweet shop keeper had fixed up the window, and had now gotten himself a new security guard on post next to the counter. One who scared Charlie whenever he passed by on his route.

For some reason, every time Charlie passed by the sweet shop window, the guard would look at him. No, not look, stare. With cold, white eyes, he would glare at the boy, a glare which for some reason, seemed to be filled with hate. His harsh pale skin would glow eerily, and a pink, veiny scar that ran like through his forehead like a canyon would be partially hidden by a wiry, grey fringe. Like his eyebrows, his thin moustache seemed to narrow with distate and anger, and his chin acted as a chair for a slick goatee beard that ended with a sharp point over his neck. To this man, Charlie supposed that he looked like some thief, someone planning on darting into the shop and darting out with a Wonka Bar in hand. Of course, Charlie would never do that, but now he disliked the idea even more so, just because of the what else stood in the way.

"Sorry Charlie, nothing...again..." spoke up Grandpa Joe with a face that showed clear disappointment.

"Yeah, me neither Grandpa," replied Charlie, "It's alright, there's still five Golden Tickets out there, we're in no rush..."

The two then headed back, both on their own routes, which meant Charlie passing by the sweet shop again, and the new security guard posted there. Charlie couldn't help but stare back, and he felt that doing so didn't help him whatsoever. But, he also got to pass the television store as well, so maybe he could catch up with some more news. Mind you, it hadn't been very nice news recently, Charlie had witnessed the lengths people had gone just for a Golden Ticket, people who didn't even need it that much. People had been killing, and kidnapping, and robbing banks. What had made big news recently was one woman stabbing her husband to death when he tricked her into thinking she'd won a Golden Ticket. Not a very funny joke really, Charlie thought.

"IT'S BEEN FOUND!"

Charlie heard a shout.

"IT'S GONE! THE FIRST TICKET! IT'S GONE!"

People in the streets were suddenly yelling, some people from their windows of their houses, some people just hearing the news from their phones.

"A BOY FROM GERMANY FOUND THE FIRST TICKET!"

Charlie's heart sunk a little, his chances were lowered now, but not gone completely.

"THAT'S NOT A BOY? LOOKS LIKE A GROWN MAN TO ME!"

Charlie was suddenly curious. This was bad news for him, but still news he wanted to know about, and the television store wasn't far from him.

"A GROWN MAN? I THINK ELEPHANT WOULD BE MORE ACCURATE!"

Charlie set off running then, he needed to see this for himself. So far from what he had gathered, the first ticket had been found, and by someone rather peculiar looking. Charlie arrived at the television store, just to find a big crowd outside the window, so with his narrow frame he snuck and squeezed his way to the front, to watch the display.

"Oh, isn't he a cutie!" was the first thing Charlie heard, with a thick German accent in play.

On the screen was a woman, a rather corpulent one at that. Her rubicund face was rather simplistic looking, with dark and untidy ginger hair scattered on her scalp. She had a mess of light freckles on the tops of both of her cheeks, and her eyes were a dark brown. The camera panned out to reveal what appeared to be the Golden Ticket winner, and he was not what his mother had previously described.

Each of the television screens were almost filled by this behemoth. Even the camera man had to point his camera upwards just to fit in the whole of the boy, who's head was almost brushing the ceiling. Charlie had never seen someone as tall in his life, he looked almost bigger than the chocolate factory itself. But it wasn't just his height that was astounding. The crowd, and Charlie, found themselves repulsed but at the same time weirdly interested by the boy's weight. He was almost as wide as he was tall, he looked a lot more like a planet than he did a human. Flab oozed from absolutely everywhere. His neck couldn't even be seen, as his chin fat dribbled down onto the top of his chest. His arms were wider than the average man's abdomen, and the boy's abdoment itself? You could fit a full motorbike in there, along with its rider too.

"Oh my god..." uttered a voice in the crowd.

"That is rancid." spoke another.

The chocolate coloured hair that the boy wore overflowed onto his head, covering his eyes from view. Charlie wondered if he could see anything other than his fringe, or perhaps he just let his tongue and teeth do the job that his eyes would. His face too was a cherry red, except for the sides of his mouth, which were coated in chocolate. Judging from his looks, and his mothers, it wasn't a family that was well looked after...besides food of course.

"I think I'm gonna be sick" were the words gurgled before a woman broke off and threw up into a drain. Barely anyone payed attention though, their eyes were still glued to the televisions before them, and the disturbing but engaging images they displayed.

"My little boy is a star!" spoke up the boy's mother again, not fitting into frame any more, "How could he not have found a ticket? My little Augustus! He's been eating Wonka Bars non stop ever since he was born!"

"Since he was born?" spoke the interviewer, "and how old is he Mrs Gloop?"

"Oh, he's just a baby, five years old!"

The crowd gave a gasp of shock, as did little Charlie. Five!? How much has he eaten to be that big at just five? How much can his mother have fed him?

"What!? He's just five?" responded the interviewer, sharing the same shock as the rest of the world.

"Oh, yes! And I know that he may be a LITTLE bigger than most kids his age, but since birth he's had big bones. He's a big boy and he needs feeding a big boy's diet!" continued Mrs Gloop, "Wonka Bars have always been his favourite, and when this competition came along, oh, there was absolutely NO way he wouldn't find a Golden Ticket. He eats over two hundred bars a day."

"Two hundred bars a day?"

"Oh, of course. Sometimes during dinner, if he licks all of his plates clean, we may give him a couple more for a treat."

"That's child abuse!" shouted someone in the crowd, "she's force feeding her child!"

Charlie didn't understand. He'd often times go days without even a scrap of food to eat, he was surprised he hadn't starved to death. And here this boy was, eating over two hundred Wonka Bars a day. Charlie lived with his small, skeletal frame, and then there was this boy, who would be able to pose as a hot air balloon. What a waste of food, Charlie thought.

"Wonka doesn't want him inside his factory," spoke another voice, "He'll eat the whole bloody thing!"

"I bet all five children'll look like that, you'll see" chimed another.

Charlie had been told that hate was a harsh emotion, and that it shouldn't be used lightly. But it was quite clear, that nothing about this situation was light. Charlie simply couldn't help himself, he couldn't help but feel a sense of hate for this boy. Augustus Gloop. Gorging himself silly on the same thing that Charlie needed to survive.

"How about we get a couple of words from the boy himself?" asked the interviewer.

"Oh, fat chance of that!" Mrs Gloop responded, "My boy can't say much, he's never really seemed to bother..."

"Bother with what?"

"Learning to talk, silly!" the woman laughed, "There's only one thing he uses that mouth for, and that's eating. At least that's the way I always thought it would be best for him."

The interviewer went silent. The crowd went silent. Charlie went silent.

"I've always wished I could do that. Just eat and eat and eat, never worry about life's problems. I suppose I'm doing my boy a favour, don't you think!"

She laughed again, but her only response was a silence filled with disgust, dismay, and sympathy. Charlie realised then that it wasn't Augustus who deserved the hate. He was merely a victim.

"He nearly ate the ticket until I yanked it away!"

The hate belonged to Mrs Gloop.


	6. Chapter 6: Bad isn't always Bad

**Here's the next chapter, and I thought that since it's a little shorter than the others I'd put it out early. Again, thanks to everyone who's been keeping up with the story so far, hopefully you've been enjoying it. I also have a couple of thanks to give:**

**First of all, thank you to Turrislucidus, who has given a favourite, a follow, and two reviews to my story so far. Thank you so much for your continuous support, I appreciate it so much.**

**Second of all, I'd like to thank my friend James, who has been test reading each chapter before I post them on fanfiction. It's really nice to get a starting and friendly opinion on my chapters before I plunge them into the sea of fanfiction to be critiqued by whoever. So a big thanks to you James, you've been a great help.**

**Anyway, without much more delay, here is Chapter 6!**

* * *

"How's Josephine doing these days?"

Joseph smiled and frowned at the same time.

"She's doing fine Georgina, she's just on holiday..."

"Ooh! Wow..." spoke Georgina, her eyes lighting up slightly, "I would've enjoyed going there!"

"Yeah, me too."

"Flying doesn't make sense. I feel ill on planes!" she muttered, a face that gave the impression she knew exactly what she was talking about. The truth was that Georgina had never gone on a plane in her entire life, nor had she even gone near one. "Has Charlie gone with her?"

"No." Joseph replied, "Not a chance that I'd let that happen."

"Oh...is he a bad flyer?"

"No. He's just too young to go where they've all gone."

"And where is that?" Georgina questioned, and suddenly Joe was taken back.

Sometimes he'd use Georgina to have conversations with himself more than he would her, but it was very rare that she'd question back. Usually she was too confused to know what the conversation was even about.

"They've...umm...they've gone to..."

"GRANDPA JOE!" Joseph heard, it was Charlie's voice.

He turned to the direction it had came from, and he saw Charlie dashing towards him with lightning speed, hurdling over the piles of rubbish to get to the shack that the two pensioners held up in.

"Charlie! You're back! Find anything?" spoke Grandpa Joe with enthusiasm.

"Did you have a good holiday?" uttered Georgina from her infested mattress.

"The first Golden Ticket! It was found!" the boy yelled, "it was found by a boy...well, I say a boy...he wasn't like any boy I ever saw, but he won the first Golden Ticket!"

"What? Oh, well, I guess it was about time! It's been a week and a half!" replied Joe, "So this boy then? What's he like? You should get to know who your opponents are!"

Charlie suddenly gave an excited smile at his Grandfather's words, but then as he recalled the boy who he had just seen on the news not moments ago, his smile faded away.

"Grandpa Joe, he was awful." Charlie said, and suddenly Grandpa Joe shifted down to his knees as he looked into the boys suddenly sympathetic eyes. Those oceans of hope had begun to dry up.

"What do you mean Charlie?"

"He was huge, absolutely humongous. He was five years old but...he was bigger than anyone I've ever seen in my life!"

"In height or weight?"

"In both...but it wasn't his fault...that was the bad part. It was his mother, she overfed him, he couldn't even talk! She only ever taught him to eat, that's all she did! He couldn't talk!" Charlie grew more and more upset, more and more angry with each word, "That's a boy, a real life boy, who can't even express his feelings because his mother won't even learn him how to talk! How can you not learn your child how to talk! That woman! I hate her! I hate her!"

Grandpa Joe could tell by the way Charlie's voice began to tremble that he was on the verge of tears. As Joseph wrapped his arms around him, Charlie started to cry.

"Shhh...sshhh...it's ok Charlie..." Joseph spoke softly, "it's ok..."

"I'm...I'm-I'm sorry Grandpa Joe..." uttered the boy, his voice still trembling.

"You've got absolutely nothing to apologise for...sshhh...come on now Charlie...sshhh..."

"I shouldn't...I shouldn't say I hate people...it's not nice..."

"Charlie...it's ok...don't bother yourself over that...come on now, lay down next to your Grandma..."

Grandpa Joe carefully lay Charlie down next to his Grandma Georgina, who made room for him on the mattress. Her eyes, like Joe's, were filled with sympathy, as whilst she didn't understand the situation, she did understand that Charlie was upset, and that was well enough. As Charlie lay down, she hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back, his tears beginning to fade away. Grandpa Joe sat down next to Charlie, taking the boys tiny and frail hand in his own.

"Charlie, listen...hate isn't a good thing, it isn't...but you can't feel bad with yourself for feeling it. You're a human being Charlie, you're going to feel every emotion that you can, and that includes the bad ones. Hate, envy, anger, even greed. But that doesn't make you a bad person Charlie...it only makes you bad if you act on these bad emotions. If you think this woman is deserving of your hate, then that's not a bad thing...but just ensure that you keep this feeling to yourself, okay Charlie? Don't go acting on it. Because if this woman truly is bad, she'll get what's coming to her, and that'll happen on its own, just you wait and see."

Charlie nodded his head, his tears transformed from fountains to just a couple of tears which slowly rolled down his cheeks. With an old and bony finger, Grandpa Joe wiped them away.

"You're a wonderful boy Charlie, don't you go worrying yourself about being some bad kid, okay?"

"Okay Grandpa Joe..." Charlie spoke, a slight smile peeking out on his lips.

"Is that a smile I see? Come on, I want a bigger grin than that!"

Charlie gave a giggle, and suddenly a smile broke out onto his face. With it, a similar expression arrived onto the faces of Grandpa Joe and Grandma Georgina, they loved to see the boy happy.

"There we go!" howled Grandpa Joe with a laugh, "now, you take a nap now if you want."

"No Grandpa Joe, I want to show you Augustus!" spoke up Charlie, jumping to his feet.

"Are you sure?" replied Joseph, "I don't want it to upset you again."

"No, it's alright Grandpa Joe, I'll be fine." spoke Charlie as he grabbed his Grandpa by the hand, "Come on! If I win a Golden Ticket then you're coming to the factory with me, and you need to get to know the opponents too!"

"Well then, okay..." replied Joseph as Charlie dragged him through the junkyard and back into the streets.

When they got to the television store, an even bigger crowd was surrounding the window, and this time there was no way Charlie would be able to squeeze and push through it, let alone his Grandpa Joe. As Charlie pondered on how he'd be able to get a view of the screens, he suddenly felt himself being lifted up, before being sat atop of the shoulders of his Grandpa Joe. Charlie gave a sudden smile.

"There you go Charlie!" his Grandpa spoke.

"Thanks Grandpa Joe!" responded the boy with a laugh, "Can you see alright?"

"A little bit, I can hear it alright, you'll have to tell me what you see."

"On it!" said Charlie, a new mission on mind.

But as he looked up at the television screen, expecting to see the unbelievably large Augustus Gloop, he instead saw an entirely new sight. No longer were we inside the typical household kitchen, but instead, the cameras were panning down long and luxurious hallways of a much more elaborate house. Only when Charlie heard the reporter begin talking did he realise what the sudden change in setting was for.

The second Golden Ticket had been found.


	7. Chapter 7: Rock Bottom

**Oh my goodness, this chapter was the toughest so far. Still not sure if I'm entirely pleased with it, but my test readers have told me it's good enough as it is. I started this chapter early in the week and kept restarting it. Veruca Salt is a character that if I didn't get spot on, I'd feel pretty bad about myself, so there are a LOT of versions of this chapter floating around on my computer. Veruca Salt, as you'll notice, is a little different from her usual self, but out of all of the four brats, probably stays the closest to her book/media counterpart. The character is perfectly bad as she is and doesn't need that much changing.**

**I'm also getting an unbelievable amount of views and support now, so I'd love to thank everyone who reads this story, especially those who have followed, favorited or reviewed it.**

**LuckyDuck932: I've got tickets to go to see The Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Musical in September, so I really look forward to it. I haven't wanted to spoil anything for myself so I've barley looked anything up about it, but it is interesting to see some similarities. I doubt there'll be many, hopefully, but if there is you'll have to point them out to me. Also, yes, I'm planning on altering every character in a way that can not only make them seem a lot more dark, but can also relate to more current problems in the world, albeit in a very exaggerated way. They're my own versions of the characters you could say, and hopefully you'll like them, some are a LOT different from others.  
**

**TheDisnerd: Thanks so much for the review, it's nice to know who's out there reading my story. I plan on making my updates as frequent as possible so hopefully you won't get too bored with time gaps.**

**As of tommorow, I'll be going back to college, so the story may slow up a little. That in no way means I'll be giving up the story, it just means that if a chapter takes a little longer than usual, then you know why. Anyway, without delay, here's the next chapter:**

* * *

"Yes! The second Golden Ticket has GONE! And it's been found in London, England, by none other than the daughter of billionaire business man, Sir Barnaby Salt! Yes, the man in charge of the world wide industry 'Salt Peanuts' is overly excited about this amazing win for his daughter!"

Charlie looked down at his Grandpa Joe, wide eyes that spelled worry.

"The second ticket...it's gone..." Charlie muttered.

Charlie couldn't believe it, it had only been twenty minutes since he was watching the overly large Augustus Gloop on this same set of television screens. If the Golden Tickets continued to go at this rate, there was absolutely no way that Charlie would find one. This was a worrying matter.

"But enough about the father already!" continued the reporter, "Let's get on to the little winner herself! She's 12 years old, she's cute as a button, and her name is Veruca Salt!"

Someone in the crowd gave a sigh, "As if she doesn't have enough already..."

Charlie had to agree. He, his Grandpa Joe, and the rest of the crowd, were taken aback by what they were seeing on those television screens. The house, no, the mansion that this girl lived in was absolutely gigantic, even by Charlie's standards, who woke up every day to look at the world's largest Chocolate Factory. The garden stretched for acres, filled to the brim with flowers of every colour, bright green bushes cut with perfection to look like animals and an array of other pretty and delicate things. The mansion halls themselves were filled with a series of smooth light browns, and a floor of gleaming polished marble. Charlie would love nothing more than to sleep in a house that was just a thousandth of what this mansion was, and even that may be overly picky for someone in Charlie's shoes.

Finally, the cameras settled in a room larger than a football stadium, with a great roaring fire in the center of it. Sat right in front of the fire, perhaps too close, was a chair larger than the shack Charlie and his family currently lived in. The chair looked overly comfortable, being draped in dark furs, dark furs which enveloped a person in comfort as soon as they sat down in it. It's current sitter was none other than the girl herself, Veruca Salt.

...And she did not look like a billionaires daughter.

She had sharp red hair that pointed harshly around her scalp like the fire that burned in front of her, the same fire that could be seen in the reflection of her dark pupils, made darker by the deep purple eye liner that weighed down her eyelids. Her lips were a heavy black, and they seemed to look odd as they currently bared a wide and excited looking smile, a smile which completely contrasted the rest of her. Around her neck was a black collar, a tight one at that, which around it had bright silver spikes poking out. Charlie could only imagine how uncomfortable it was. She wore a sleeveless top, that whilst was bright white, exuded darkness. Upon the white canvas of her shirt, was inked a pentagram, and whilst Charlie didn't know what one of these was, it still unsettled him. Her boots were leather and clunky and came up to her knees, her wrists sported similar gear to her neck, and black skinny jeans, littered with rips, were what she wore on her bottom. To say she could afford any wardrobe she wanted, it certainly was a weird choice of dress.

Her father on the other hand certainly looked like a business man. A navy blue plaid suit was worn with class, with a clean and untouched handkerchief in the front pocket. His hair was a light grey, combed carefully over his head to make it look as full and varnished as the rest of his appearance. He, like Veruca, was in possession of a very wide smile, as he looked at the camera. He leant smartly on the chair beside his daughter, and on the other side, leant Veruca's mother, looking much more ladylike than her daughter did.

"I'll tell you something, I knew I'd get her that ticket!" spoke Sir Barnaby Salt proudly, and with a fine and posh voice that emphasised every word, "That ticket is as good as hers, and it only took what? Ooh...9 days to get it...I'd say that's quite an achievement myself..."

It was now that Charlie noticed that Mr Salt was actually looking awfully relieved.

"So you went through a lot of effort to get this ticket?" asked one of the interviewers.

"HA! Only shutting down my Peanut Factory for nine days!" the billionaire continued, "No one would've bought our product anyway, it's only been Wonka bars selling for the last nine days, and that'll continue to be the case until we've found all five!"

Veruca continued to smile as she held up the Golden Ticket, cameras flashing in her face as they took her picture.

"You shut your factory down?"

"Oh! Yes! It was a quite smart method I believe. Usually my workers shell nuts, but for the last nine days they've been shelling the wrapping from Wonka Bars instead. I told them that whoever finds a Golden Ticket gets to go home that day with a prize of one hundred thousand pounds, well, if they didn't try stealing the Golden Ticket when they found it, they may just have that money."

Barnaby chortled to himself. It was a laugh that was so disgustingly arrogant that Charlie actually cringed.

"Are you sure that's technically stealing though? She found it. Was it not hers to take home?"

"NO!" spat Veruca, looking at the man who gave the question with those fire filled eyes. She jolted up from her dark fur chair, in an erect and strong position, hands clenched into fists. "Father told that idiotic woman that she must give the ticket to him if she found it! She agreed to it! So therefore, it WAS stealing! Are there any more stupid questions you wish to ask like that one? Do I need to have Father throw you out of the house!?"

A loud silence filled the room. Veruca continued to stare at the man, now starting to look at him disapprovingly, as though she wanted nothing more than to watch him die right in front of her. She rolled her eyes and sat back down in her dark fur chair, but not before whispering.

"Stupid little prick."

Charlie had thought it was an innocent question. It was actually a question he himself had thought, and he was rather startled at the reaction the girl gave. Perhaps she was in a bad mood, although why would she be? She was confirmed a spot in the five people that would be able to enter Willy Wonka's great Chocolate Factory.

"Well..." Barnaby continued, breaking the silence, "my little darling is absolutely thrilled to be going to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, I mean, she isn't a very large fan of chocolate, but it's still an absolutely wonderful experience isn't it? It'll make for a miraculous day out!"

The air in the room was tainted with an awkward feel now. A lot of the interviewers were scared to ask questions now, and they'd run them through their heads a couple of times first before even thinking of saying them out loud. Veruca's smile was back on her face as if she'd never had the earlier exchange, and her mothers hands were rubbing her shoulders carefully.

"So was it worth all the hard work to get your daughter a ticket?" an interviewer piped up finally in a nervous tone.

"Oh! Absolutely! Little Veruca asked every single day! She was demanding of it! Not only that she get a Golden Ticket, but the first Golden Ticket!" answered Mr Salt.

The interviewers shared a look of confusion with each other.

"So she's alright with having the second Golden Ticket then?" one of them spoke.

"What?" responded Barnaby quickly, eyes bulging out of his head, "No...she won the first Golden Ticket..."

Veruca's smile dropped into a frown filled with both worry and anger, as she looked up at her father. Barnaby looked back down at her, and his own face was filled with fear now. Great amounts of fear.

"It's the first...isn't it?" he asked.

"No Mr Salt..." replied an interviewer, "The first Golden Ticket was found twenty minutes ago by a boy in Germany...we thought you'd been notified..."

Barnaby was now sweating profusely, his eyebrows arching backwards in worry, and his lip quivering. He looked up into the sky as though he was about to say his last words, and all that came out, in a most desperate tone, was...

"Oh no."

"FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTHHHEEEERRRRRRRRR!"

Veruca was up on her feet, her face as boiling as her hair, her eyes now wide and only seeing red. She launched the Golden Ticket at the cameras, however it just fell lightly onto the floor, angering her even more.

"YOU SAID IT WAS THE FIRST!" she screamed, "YOU SAID I HAD THE FIRST GOLDEN TICKET! I TOLD ALL OF MY FRIENDS THAT I HAD THE FIRST GOLDEN TICKET!"

Her screams were painfully loud, so painfully loud in fact that some members of the crowd actually held their ears with their hands. She sounded as though a police siren was being held next to your ear. Veruca twisted violently, pushing the chair she was previously sat in to the floor, and it plummeted loudly onto the mahogany floorboards. Veruca ran around the room, tossing herself into various vases and pieces of pottery, her wails drowning out the racket of the vases crashing into millions of peices. Mrs Salt had completely disappeared from the scene. Good thinking.

"Now they're all going to laugh at ME!"

After that last ear peircing squeal, Veruca dropped to the floor on her knees, now sobbing spontaneously. She looked over to the cameras that were filming her, staring into the lens with wide and wet eyes that attempted to call for sympathy.

"You don't know how it is! Nothing ever goes right for me! All I wanted was the first Golden Ticket...and I can't even get that...I'm not even allowed to have that! If there is a God...he truly is cruel!"

The crowd was mostly filled with confused faces, with the exception of some people who gave laughs of disbelief.

"Is she serious?" a voice piped up.

Veruca continued, "NONE of you understand! NOBODY understands how hard it is when nothing goes your way! First one of the swimming pools clog up! Then we find a scratch on my favourite horse saddle! And now...now...I get the second Golden Ticket...THE SECOND GOLDEN TICKET! I'm at a loss for words...It's a hard life down here in rock bottom..."

Charlie and his Grandpa Joe shared a look with each other. 'Rock bottom' she says...

"And YOU!" Veruca jumped to her feet, pointing her finger at the interviewer who posed the question that had earlier gotten on her nerves, "YOU'RE the kind of people that just make this world worse! It's the people like you that bring me down! You get to go home tonight to happiness, after a long day of stealing it from EVERYONE ELSE!"

"Look, I'm very sorry..."

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! I don't want to listen to any more of your stupid words! YOU'RE PROBABLY THE REASON I DIDN'T GET THAT FIRST TICKET! YES! IT'S YOUR FAULT! FATHER! DO SOMETHING USEFUL FOR ONCE AND RID THIS FILTH FROM OUR MANSION!"

Sir Barnaby Salt was running forward now, shouting for security, who quickly grabbed the man by the arms and dragged him away.

"You can't kick me out! I paid to come in here!" the man screamed.

"And I'll make sure to give you back your money!" returned Mr Salt.

"No! He doesn't get anything!" screamed Veruca from her spot, "HE DOESN'T GET ANYTHING!"

The crowd around the television shop window were at a loss for words. What unpleasantness Augustus Gloop had in looks, this girl had in personality.

"If I can't get the first Golden Ticket father...I WANT TWO! GET ME TWO GOLDEN TICKETS!"

"What? Veruca...it took nine days..."

"I DON'T CARE IF IT TAKES TEN YEARS! GET ME ANOTHER GOLDEN TICKET! AND GET RID OF THESE CAMERAS!"

As if like that, the screens were all shut off from the scene one by one, before resorting back to the news stations where news anchors were looking just as baffled and disgusted as everyone else around the world.

"That girl..." spoke the same voice in the crowd as earlier, "She can have anything she wants in the whole blooming world at a bloody click of her fingers..."

And yet she acts like she lives a worse life than Charlie, continued Grandpa Joe in his head. Charlie, this boy who had absolutely nothing. This boy who still continued having hope even though it was clear nothing spectacular was ever going to come. This boy who you'd never guess was living such a menial life even after spending a full week with him.

And then this girl, Veruca.

This girl who treats herself with the same amount of sympathy that cancer patients should be given. This girl who demands attention and pampering with an iron fist. This girl who has both of her billionaire parents and their purses on a leash, still wants more. Joseph Bucket would go through torture just so Charlie could live just an average and ordinary lifestyle, and this girl had ten times more than that, and she put on a show as though she lived in some cave. As someone in Joseph Bucket's position, this girl just made him more and more angry the more he thought about her. The more he recalled and repeated the interview that had just occurred in his head, it truly made him feel hatred himself.

'Practice what you preach' Joseph reiterated in his head. He had just told Charlie earlier to let hate lay still, to not do anything about it. These were the things that he told Charlie to make the boy as pleasant as possible. These were what he decided to tell Charlie to give the boy hope in the world, something he had so much of. Joseph's hopes and dreams had been shattered long ago. The only reason the old man followed these rules he had set, was because of Charlie.

"Come on Charlie...let's go back..." uttered Grandpa Joe, as he began walking away, taking Charlie with him as he was still sat atop of his shoulders.

"There are still three Tickets left Grandpa Joe...don't worry..."

Grandpa Joe pushed forth a smile, "Yes Charlie, I know."


	8. Chapter 8: Birthday Luck

**6 favourites, 10 follows, 13 reviews...I absolutely love you lot. I've even been favourited and followed multiple times as an author as well, so thanks to everyone who's done that, I appreciate it so much. Another hard chapter, I wanted to avoid getting repetitive with the Charlie scenes so I tried doing something different with this chapter, Charlie's placed in a different surrounding to say the least. Also, an accent at play in this one, not TOO strong though, let's not hope it bugs anyone.**

**TheDisnerd: I don't know whether you could say whether Veruca or Augustus are changed more from their book/film counterpart, but I'd definitely say my change to Veruca is interesting. I thought that it was a character change to make her better contrast the character of Charlie himself, to provide more of an antagonist and an obstacle. And yes, there certainly aren't many characters running around with this formula.**

**Dani4444: I'm thinking of maybe doing a poll once the chapters of all the bratty kids have been posted, to see which one is the people's favourite. It'd be interesting and also helpful to see who people would like to see the most of.**

**Precious-Ballerina-Jillian: Thanks very much, and as I said in an earlier chapter, I'm going to be seeing the musical in September, and I can't wait. I've resisted from looking at too much to do with the musical as to avoid spoiling it for myself, and so I'm not too sure what the characters are actually like in that, although I can grasp a general idea just from the advert. Veruca is my favourite in general of course, just because I absolutely love her in the original film, so even though I changed her for this story, I had to keep some original Veruca in there. As for Mike, well, my Mike is a MAJOR divulge from any other source of media, at least that I've seen. He's a very fun character, but he's not like any Mike Teavee that you currently know, so whether he'll be your favourite in this or not I'm not sure. But I'll stop there, I don't want to give away TOO much.**

**DaOneInDaCorner: This is my own entire universe that I've created. Neither of the two films or even the book (except for the main plot line of course) have been taken into account, I'm creating my own unique story. Sorry if that's not your thing, but hopefully you'll give it a chance regardless.**

**So a big thanks to you four for the reviews this week, and of course to anyone who has been reading my story this far. I hope I can please you all to the highest amount possible with every chapter, and if I'm not, let me know. I'm here to improve, I can take criticism, so just tell me...of course, don't do so in a nasty way, but I will try and make what adjustments I can if people call for it. Anyway, hopefully I can impress you to the fullest on the first go, and hopefully this chapter will be an example of that. Here it is...Chapter 8!**

* * *

Charlie had expected, that with the first two tickets being found within the same twenty minutes, that the other three would've possibly already gone by now. But no, five days had passed since and they were all still out there, waiting to be found. Hopefully by someone pleasant...

Grandpa Joe had visibly been annoyed on the day coming back from watching the news broadcast featuring the second Golden Ticket winner, Veruca Salt. He didn't say anything to Charlie, he didn't even mutter to himself, but you could tell it upset him. Charlie knew why, he was rather upset himself, but they both knew it was best not to say anything about it, it would just dampen the mood. And the mood where they were wasn't exactly up beat as it was.

The two had still kept up the search around the streets though. They would see other people still running in and out of the sweet shop, just as eager as they were on the first day. Well, maybe not JUST as eager, there was certainly no brutal beatings now, and there was certainly no robbing the sweet shop, not with the new Security Guard. Apparently someone had tried, Charlie heard about it in the local news, they attempted to run out with just one Wonka Bar, that one Golden Chance. They were caught in a matter of seconds, the Security Guard's claw clutching the back of their neck before they even reached the door. The robber didn't even require apprehending, they apparently fainted just due to the Guard's cold, dangerous stare. The same stare that settled on Charlie every time he moved by the shop. The same stare that made Charlie want to walk on the opposite side of the road.

It was night time now, another day of not finding anything, and Charlie and his Grandpa Joe were back at the Junkyard, sitting down uncomfortably in their poorly made shack. Grandma Georgina was giving a dizzy and overly clumsy smile, her head just poking out from the dirty blanket that covered her tiny, crooked and fragile body. Grandpa Joe smiled down at her, and Charlie watched the Chocolate Factory from his perch, staring at the bright golden windows in the dark of the night.

"It's your birthday tomorrow!" Georgina suddenly blurted out.

Charlie turned quickly to look at Grandma Georgina, blue eyes wide. It WAS his birthday tomorrow...wow...he had totally forgotten. Whilst granted, it was odd for children to usually forget their birthdays, but for Charlie, it was just any other day. Of all people, it was odd that Grandma Georgina would remember that, even Grandpa Joe looked like it had never occurred to him.

"Oh wow...it is!" responded Charlie, "Maybe tomorrow a bit of birthday luck will shine through? Maybe I'll find a coin...and maybe I'll get the bar with the Golden Ticket in it!"

"Oh well...maybe...but don't be disappointed if tomorrow isn't the day you find it..." Grandpa Joe replied, he didn't want to get the boy too overjoyed. The higher up his hopes got, the harder they'd eventually fall. More recently Joe's enthusiasm had began to drop too, especially after seeing who'd won the first two Golden Tickets. If children like those two were the kind being graced with these Tickets, then Charlie truly had no chance.

"I won't Grandpa Joe...but I do like my chances..." responded the boy with a smile, "I deserve it more than those other two..."

"Don't say that Charlie..." he heard his Grandpa say in a soft tone, "Whilst it may be true, don't be saying it out loud, those thoughts are for your head."

"Ok Grandpa Joe..." said Charlie understandingly, followed promptly by a yawn. In the last five days Charlie had been busier and more active than usual, and it was beginning to tire him out. So upon hearing the yawn, Grandpa Joe decided it be for the best if Charlie get some sleep, the boy was using up too much energy, and they didn't have enough food to match it. Charlie didn't fall asleep right away, but when he did, his dreams stuck to the same pattern that they had done since the news had erupted, he dreamt about the Golden Tickets.

"Charlie..."

Charlie's vision slowly transformed from black to light, as his eyelids creaked open.

"Charlie...it's your birthday..."

Charlie was wide awake now. Not because it was his birthday, but because his Grandpa Joe had woken him up. See, Charlie never got awoken on his birthday. Charlie knew that it was a dark day for everybody, because it wasn't just his birthday, he knew it was also the day that his mother died. That's why it rarely got celebrated, and he never got awoken on it because there was no reason for him to get awoken on it. But now he had, now their MUST be a reason.

"It's my birthday!"

Charlie jumped upwards, so fast in fact that it almost made him dizzy. Grandpa Joe was stood in front of him, an intentful smile on his face, and one of his hands was bunched into a fist. Joseph noticed when Charlie's eyes darted to it, and so he decided not to delay.

"Happy Birthday Charlie." the old man spoke, as he stretched his hand out to Charlie, opened up his palm, and revealed a bright, shining, silver coin. Charlie grinned with joy as he took it from his Grandpa's hand and pushed it up to his face. There it was, his Wonka Bar...and possibly a Golden Ticket.

"THANKS GRANDPA!" was what Joseph believed he heard as Charlie pushed himself into him with a powerful hug, before then darting off.

"Charlie! Hang on! Wait up!"

But the boy was already gone, lost in his own hope. This was it, he thought. He just had a feeling that this was going to be what finds him the Golden Ticket. The television store would usually take twenty minutes to reach, but Charlie was already zooming past it in ten, he'd never ran faster in his life. He didn't even take notice of the commotion going on by the window, he didn't even care, he ran right around the crowd like it wasn't even there. The only time he slowed, was when he reached the sweet shop. Not the door, the window...because he forgot about a certain something...or someone.

There he was, his gaze already on Charlie before he was even in the shop. Charlie immediately gulped. He'd forgotten about the Security Guard, this mysterious and scary looking figure who would glare at him harshly whenever he saw him. Usually Charlie would just ignore him, but now he was going IN the shop itself...how could he? Perhaps he should wait for his Grandpa Joe he thought. No, he was going to go in. This man wasn't going to stop him from getting that Golden Ticket, no matter how scary he may look.

One step into the shop, Charlie was already regretting it. The Guard's glare was even harder now. He didn't look upset, or angry, or nervous, he just looked repulsed. A certain level of un-required focus was on Charlie in that instant, and that was what worried him. Did he think the boy was going to steal something? Did Charlie look like a thief? He made the coin in his fingers visible just to be sure, but regardless, the Guard's stare didn't falter. Charlie walked slowly into the shop, his feet patting on the laminate flooring, a new sound to the boy's ears. But all he could hear was the beating of his heart, all he could feel feel were the beads of sweat on his forehead, all he could taste was the dryness of his tongue and mouth, and all he could see was that scary, white, hate filled stare.

"Can I help you?"

Charlie jumped. He turned quickly, guiltily quickly, to look at the shopkeeper. He was looking at Charlie, surprisingly there was no line, there wasn't anyone in the shop for that matter. The shopkeeper was a dark skinned man, looking rather corpulent, with an unkempt grey beard and a shaved head. On the left side of his chest was a little name tag that had 'Bill' written on it. He looked down on Charlie with wide eyes, eyebrows lifted, he was waiting for an answer.

"You want a Wonka Bar?" Bill asked, a strong accent on display, Charlie believed it sounded Yorkshire.

"Yes please." squeaked Charlie, as he placed the coin on the counter. Bill gave Charlie a friendly smile as he casually slid the coin into his hand and turned to the shelf behind him. Charlie's glance turned over to the Security Guard again, who was still staring at him. Charlie was confused now, why was the man so focussed on Charlie, he was clearly just getting a Wonka Bar. Bill turned back around to Charlie, Wonka Bar in hand, as he passed it to the young boy with a pleasant smile.

"Thankyou." Charlie spoke politely.

"No problem lad" boomed the jolly voice of Bill, "You hoping to get the fourth Golden Ticket?"

Fourth? What did he mean fourth? Only three had gone...hadn't they?

"Fourth?" Charlie questioned, "Do you mean the third?"

"An't you heard?" responded Bill, "Mind ye', it only happened half an hour ago. Young lass won' third Golden Ticket."

"How'd you know?" asked Charlie.

"It's all over place, all over' news, I'd say I'm surprised you an't heard but you don't look like you own a telly." replied Bill, "...No offence."

"Do you have a television?" asked Charlie.

"Yeah, it's round back, I'd let you have a look but I don't think it'd bode well for me to invite a little boy into the back of the shop." Bill said with a little chuckle, before realising the age of his audience, and letting up. Charlie clearly didn't get the joke.

"Please, can I have a look, please?" asked Charlie.

Bill looked at Charlie for a brief moment, clearly thinking.

"Alright," he finally responded, "Gu on then, I'll let you have a look. But open your bloody Wonka Bar first! Tension's killing me."

Charlie remembered that he had a Wonka Bar in his hand, he couldn't believe he'd forgotten about it. He quickly took it up into his grasp and pushed his fingers into the wrapping, getting ready to tear it off...until he stopped. He was scared.

"You alright?" asked Bill.

"I don't want to open it..." replied Charlie.

"Why not?"

"What if I don't get the Ticket?"

"Buy another..."

"I can't...this is my only chance..."

Bill didn't know how to respond to that, he just watched as Charlie stared at the Wonka Bar. Charlie closed his eyes, tight, and then suddenly ripped off the wrapping with his fingers. He dare not open his eyes again, he dare not see whether or not his life would change in this instant.

"Bloody hell! There it is!" he heard Bill shout.

"REALLY!?" Charlie bellowed as his eyes shot open.

"No..." finished Bill, looking rather guilty, "Sorry, couldn't resist..."

Charlie stood there, silent. His eyes looked lazily at the chocolate bar in front of him. His stature now sloped. His blue eyes turning ever so slightly more grey. He just let the chocolate slip between his fingers and crash into the floor, breaking into peices. Bill let his eyes fall closed. He'd been waiting to do that to someone, but goodness how unsatisfying it felt. Way to pick and choose Bill.

"I'm sorry lad...I really am..." added Bill softly, "Here, come on, let's go and get the telly on...yeah? I'll even let you have some chocolate for free? How 'bout that? Not the Wonka Bars...but anything else you want..."

Charlie looked up at Bill, and pushed a smile onto his face.

"Thanks..." he muttered.

Charlie took another look at the Security Guard. He was still looking at Charlie, but to the boy's surprise, not with the same level of hatred that he had done previously.

For some reason...

He seemed to hate him more.


	9. Chapter 9: What Does it Spell?

**It's growing more and more, and my story has over 1000 views now, so thanks to everyone who has read and has carried on reading it so far. I don't want to keep putting the same generic paragraph before each chapter, but you do know I thank you all a hell of a lot.**

**TheDisnerd: Well, you get to see how Violet is portrayed in this chapter, and it certainly is a big change from anything else as far as I'm aware, I hope you like it. As for the demises, that's quite some time off yet, but they're certainly altered, so don't you worry about that.**

**LuckyDuck932: I've started reading your story and I've really been enjoying it, make sure to keep it up! And about the Musical, thanks, I'm REALLY looking forward to it myself, and when I watch it I'll make sure to post my thoughts on it, which I am sure will be positive. **

**Ok so I'm REALLY divulging from the main story with this chapter, things are only going to get more and more different from here. You could argue but I would say Violet is the most changed from her book/film counterpart, and whilst I don't really know what she's like in the musical, I don't believe she'll be like this one. Anyway, I don't want to say too much, off we go with Chapter 9.**

* * *

Charlie didn't know whether he liked Bill or not. The giant pile of sweets that Charlie carried in his arms almost made him forgive Bill for his earlier prank...almost. Judging by his little room in the back of the shop, Bill was a very complex and...strange man. The plaster on the walls were flaking away, the bland white wallpaper only being held in place by the number of posters and pictures nailed into the wall. A lot of them were of women absent of their clothes, posing in ways that highlighted their dominant features. As Charlie passed by them, Bill tried to obscure the boy's view of them with his hand, pushing him forward.

"Move along..." he muttered, "Forgot about those..."

Those were not the only items that decorated Bill's walls. He noticed that on one wall of the room was a large flag of the United Kingdom, however, what differed about this one to the others Charlie had seen, was the writing across it. 'The Sex Pistols' Charlie read, being slightly taken aback, that was a word Grandpa Joe had told Charlie not to say. On another wall was a dart board, with a picture of an old, red haired woman's face hung down over it, having been torn into with numerous darts. On another wall, contained in a reasonably polished glass case, was what Charlie believed to be a pickaxe, and a very rusty and aged one at that.

"That pickaxe looks quite old..." chimed up Charlie, "how do you mine anything with that?"

"I don't..." responded Bill, as his eyes glanced over to the dart board, "Not anymore."

Charlie looked confused, but he decided not to go into it. Bill moved over to a dusty looking shelf that sat a radio, blasting out some sort of rock song in a gargled way. Charlie believed that he heard "And the law won!" through the static sounds, before Bill switched it off. He picked up a remote from the floor, using it to turn on the television that sat all too close to the sofa, before he just let himself collapse back into it the dirty cushions that were squashed into it.

"Here, go on, sit down, it's on." spoke Bill, nodding his head towards the television.

Upon hearing this, Charlie crossed his legs and plopped himself down on the wooden flooring in front of the television. Bill just stared at him, an incredibly perplexed look on his face.

"What you doing?" Bill questioned.

"Sitting?" responded Charlie innocently.

"On the bloody floor?"

Charlie didn't see the problem.

"There's a chair behind you..."

"Can I sit in it?" asked Charlie, excitedly.

Bill just laughed.

"Bloody hell...course you can!"

Charlie got to his feet again, awkwardly and carefully, as to not drop the handful of sweets. He jumped backwards into the sofa, and he almost sunk into it. NEVER in his whole life, had Charlie felt such comfort. He almost fell to sleep right there and then, a smile breaking onto his face, before he heard the television sound, causing his eyes to shoot open on instinct. The third Golden Ticket had been found, but by who?

"Violet Beauregarde!" the television answered, "the first Golden Ticket winner from the USA! Yes, Violet hails from Los Angeles, California, and boy is the American Nation happy about this news!"

Bill rolled his eyes.

"Yes, here we are at Seal Bay High School, where the Golden Ticket winner is ready to make her big entrance!"

The scene faded into a shot of the Seal Bay high school logo, taking up the whole of the television screen. It was of course that of a Seal, balancing a ball on its nose, decorated in the high school colours of dark blue and hot pink. The logo didn't get much air time though, not before it was torn into peices by the Seal Bay football team, who charged through it with power. Following the football team through the new made hole, flipping, somersaulting, cartwheeling, and a range of other impressive things, were the cheerleaders. Charlie almost jumped as Bill gave a hoot.

"GIMME' A V!"

Wailed a chorus of high pitched and girly voices. The cheerleaders were zooming from one side of the screen to the other with the moves they were performing, wowing Charlie.

"GIMME' AN I!"

The cheerleaders were now facing the camera, executing a dance routine. Charlie noticed they all wore the same blue and pink colours on their identical cheer leading gear, that was perhaps a little TOO revealing.

"GIMME' AN O!"

Bright pink pom poms were flashing around in speed and rythym, making Charlie dizzy as he struggled to find a place for his eyes to rest.

"GIMME' AN L!"

The girls were all starting to gather together, as some were being gracefully lifted onto the shoulders of others.

"GIMME' AN E!"

A pyramid was being formed, each girl skilfully balancing themselves on the shoulders of those below her, and then having someone do the same on top of them.

"GIMME' A T!"

Charlie noticed that there was one part of the pyramid missing, the very top.

"WHAT DOES IT SPELL?"

As if like that, being flipped up into place by a couple of football players, was the Golden Ticket winner herself.

"VIOLET!" she squealed in a voice filled with over excitement, holding her Golden Ticket in front of her with a colossal smile on her face.

She had a head of strong blonde hair, that was pushed back into a frizzy pony-tail on the back of her head. Her eyes were big and bright and blue, a darker shade than Charlie's but just as prominent. Her skin was soaked in fake tan, making her look absolutely orange, and this orange skin could be seen all too much. Her clothing only barely covered her 'parts', she certainly wasn't afraid of showing them off, but then, they were certainly at a level worth boasting of.

"Holy..." croaked Bill, almost hypnotised, "she can't be sixteen...no way...look at her...there's not a sixteen year old alive that has a body like that...look at her ti-"

Suddenly realising Charlie was in the room, Bill flustered and suddenly improvised.

"...Ticket." he finished awkwardly.

It certainly was a wonderful ticket, Charlie thought. Charlie was only eight years old now, but even he had to admit this was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his whole life. She was absolutely breath taking.

"She's like the modern age Blondie..." Bill piped in again.

Charlie noticed something else though...

"I want to win a bloody ticket now." Bill continued.

She seemed to be chewing...no...not chewing...

"That fat kid certainly aint gonna pull her."

Popping.

"What's in her mouth?" Charlie asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't bloody looking at her mouth."

"She's chewing gum."

"Is she? I'm still not looking at her mouth."

She certainly was, she was chewing obnoxiously. Her jaws were slamming up and down in such an over exaggerated way that it was like she wanted the world to know that she was chewing gum. As Charlie was thinking about it, the girl looked right at the camera which was now zoomed in on her face, and blew a bubble so large that it almost covered her entire face from view. As it popped, she gave a little giggle, and gave a playful wink at the camera with those bright and beautiful blue eyes.

Charlie blushed.

"Oh wow." he accidentally spoke out loud in a winded tone. Bill laughed upon hearing Charlie do this.

"Becoming a man now are we?" Bill jested.

But Charlie didn't hear him...he was lost in the television, in the eyes of Violet Beauregarde. He no longer cared about the chewing gum smacking around in her jaws, in fact, it made him like her all the more. It was unique. It gave the girl character. If anything, Charlie had now decided, it added to her beauty.

"Who's that?" Charlie suddenly blurted, snapping out of his trance.

From around the back of the pyramid, walked an older, but rather burly looking man, with the same colour hair and skin that Violet had. He wore a tracksuit that matched the school colours of blue and pink, aviator sunglasses over his face, and a whistle around his neck. Suddenly, from the top of the cheerleader pyramid, Violet leaped forward, executing a perfect forward flip before landing into the man's arms.

"Boyfriend maybe?" Bill answered.

"What? No!" Charlie responded quickly and harshly, and instantly realised his rude tone, "I mean...umm...he's too old isn't he?"

"Girls like that go with older men..." Bill grinned, "Why, are we hoping she'd go for someone much younger eh? A certain seven year old?"

"I'm eight today..." Charlie quickly responded.

"Ha! So we are talking about you then?" Bill chuckled.

Charlie's face went red, "No! I didn't mean me! I'm not talking about me! I don't even like girls!"

"You'll regret saying that when you're older! This your first crush?"

"I don't have a crush!" Charlie's face was getting redder and redder now with embarassement.

Bill realised he shouldn't be teasing the boy, but he couldn't help but get involved in little bits of fun like this. He decided it best to end it here, he'd hurt the boy enough on his birthday.

"Alright then, whatever..." Bill ended with a smile, "Let's get back to watching this."

"Here they are!" The reporter piped up, referring to the Golden Ticker winner and the man who's arms she was being held in, "The Beauregarde double team! The Cheerleading Squad Captain and Coach...Violet Beauregarde and her father, Samuel Beauregarde!"

"Oh please," spoke up Mr. Beauregarde as he strutted over to the cameras, a deep voice that personified narcissism, "ladies call me Sammy."

"Oh, it's just her dad, you've still got a chance." snorted Bill, getting the reaction he wanted from Charlie.

Violet followed her father over to the reporters, and the two gave off a certain presence that showed they knew what to do when the cameras were rolling.

"So Violet Beauregarde, adding another accomplishment to her belt!" continued the reporter, "Captain of the Seal Bay Cheerleading Squad, Guiness World Record holder, and now a Golden Ticket winner!"

"I know right!" beemed Violet, her diction extremely poor and her voice overly dopey, "I mean, like, when I saw the ticket I was like 'O-M-G'! I like, could NOT believe it!"

"Neither could I!" broke in Mr. Beauregarde, flashing his perly white teeth, "I am incredibly proud of my daughter...yet again."

"My daddy says he's so totally proud of me! He has reason to be aswell! You see this juicy fruit I'm chewing?" Violet blew another bubble for the camera and popped it quickly, "This has gotten my name and this absolutely be-A-utiful face in the Guinea World Record book! I've been chewing this gum for like, three years or something...pretty sure it's three years, maybe more. That's the LONGEST anyone's ever chewed one single peice of bubbly gum!"

Charlie was amazed. She's a world record holder as well, he thought, how could this girl get any more impressive. Bill on the other hand, had started to cringe as soon as he heard the girl begin to talk.

"Like, I've TOTES smashed Cornelia's record! You need to stop trying to catch up sweety, NOT gonna happen! One time, in Cheer leading practice, I remember I fell over and accidentally swallowed my chewing gum. Cornelia was all smiley and happy, thinking she'd over take me. Like, hell no bitch! Went straight to the bathroom, puked that shit UP! Gave it a little wash, popped it back in, BAM! Back in action!"

How dedicated she was, Charlie thought. A bit of cursing Charlie heard, but it was alright, she was allowed to swear if she wanted.

"People say it's disgusting but, like, I've had worse things in my mouth." she said all too casually.

"And what about the Ticket Violet? How'd you get that?"

"HA! Well, that's actually a totally hilarious story. There's this geek loser guy who's like, totally wanted to bone me since like, kindergarten or some shit. I remember I was around at Tom's house, and...oh wait, no, I think it was Dwayne's...it was one of my boyfriends anyway, and suddenly I got a text and Keren was all like 'O-M-G! Geek Loser Guy just TOTES got a Golden Ticket!', and I was like "Oh W-T-F! Need to get over there like, A-S-P-A!"

"Wait, so you didn't win the Ticket?" the reporter asked.

"Like, trust me, for what I did for that ticket, I'd totally call it a hard earned win!"

Charlie didn't understand, but he didn't care, a girl like her should have a Golden Ticket if she wants it. Bill just shook his head, he already had a strong dislike for the girl. She looked amazing, but it seemed that her beauty didn't move past the skin. What he could tell was that there was certainly nothing precious going on inside her skull, she had less wits than the German boy, and he couldn't even talk.

"My daughter, boy is she something!" Sammy poked in again, "Why can't my wife be more like her, huh? Violet is of course going to be taking me to the factory, Daddy Beauregarde wants to see this supposedly 'magical' place for himself."

Suddenly, the door of the room flung open, breaking the attention of both Bill and Charlie. Through the now wide open door, emerged a very angry looking Joseph Bucket, and a very irritated looking Security Guard just behind him. Joseph looked at Charlie, eyebrows narrowed, and Charlie suddenly became scared again.

"You..." Joe spoke, "...are in a LOT of trouble!"


	10. Chapter 10: The Job Oppurtunity

**Whilst this chapter may be shorter than the others, I believe it packs just as much content. We're moving on through this somewhat original story now, and new sides of characters are emerging. Again thanks to anyone still keeping up to date with my story, I love you all.**

**Precious-Ballerina-Jillian: Bill is indeed a little bit of an oddball, and whilst he may not TECHNICALLY be an OC, I'd say he pretty much is my own creation, as are most of the characters in this story. I'm hoping people take a liking to Bill at least. And Charlie's crush on Violet was inspired by my own childhood crush on Annasophia Robb in the 2005 film, where she played the same character, plus I thought it fleshed out the characters of both Charlie and Violet a bit more. Also, the fact that you have a hunch about the Security Guard is great, I was hoping he'd get some people thinking. I'd appreciate if you could PM me with your theory. I won't tell you if you're right or not, but it'd be nice to see what people think.**

**Oleander Grimm: Thanks, I purposely go out of my way for detail. A lot of the description that may seem some what unnecessary always has a purpose. If I'm describing something, it's for a reason. Whether it be foreshadowing, symbolism, or even just a cross culture reference, it always has something to it. Thanks for picking up on it, it makes me feel good.**

**TheDisnerd: This review made me laugh pretty hard. Yeah, Violet is inspired of course by the typical popular girl type that everyone deals with, in any country, in any case. I just decided to use the ultimate stereotype with the L.A. cheerleader, I mean, these bad kids are supposed to be reasonably 2D.**

**LuckyDuck932: I really can't wait to get down to the Factory chapter, I'm looking forward to jumping back into these characters. That's not to say I'm not having fun at the moment though, I've changed the story in a way that fits me well. And Violet is probably the most changed out of all the children, in my opinion, although you may think different when it gets to Mike. I personally love my take on him, but I'm a bit worried how he'll go over, he's certainly a change, but that's all I'll say. Bill is intended to bring some comedy to the table, especially in this first half which is proving to be rather gritty and depressing. Also, your fic is great, and I keep checking my alerts for updates every day. Just thought I'd let you know.**

**Dylan: Good to here, so have I, he's certainly a fun character to write. It's nice to add some comedy to a rather gritty tale.**

**Pierre in France: Thanks! Got that one in there last minute, just about to post this chapter when I saw that review.**

**Here it is, Chapter 10, we're in double digits now!**

* * *

"He was a bit touched over not winning a Golden Ticket, and he asked if he could come in the back and watch the television, y'know, see who won the third ticket...I didn't want to upset him again..."

"Wait...again? What do you mean 'again'?"

"Well, I may have played a little prank..."

"What sort of prank?"

"I MAY have tricked him into thinking he'd won a Golden Ticket..."

"..."

"I gave him a couple of sweets for it..."

"Is that how you get your kicks? Upsetting children? As if he hasn't been through enough already!"

"I really am sorry..."

"He doesn't have a home, or a family, or...he doesn't have ANYTHING!"

"I feel awful, really I do-"

"Stay away from my grandson!"

"Sir..."

"You heard me...stay away from him!"

Charlie just stood there, listening to the conversation between his Grandpa Joe and Bill. Charlie was grateful that Bill was trying to take the blame for him, but he was told by his Grandpa Joe that lying was bad. If he doesn't say anything, is that still lying? If he just stays silent he's not technically breaking any rules right? He's just...not telling the truth. Charlie had never seen his Grandpa like this though, he'd never seen him in such a state of anger...it actually scared him. Maybe that's why he didn't want to tell the truth, he was scared of the way his Grandpa Joe would react, maybe the best idea was just letting Bill take the fall. He seemed fine to do so.

The fear was escalated by the glare of the Security Guard. He was stood to the side, just giving Charlie that same usual stare. Charlie tried to avoid looking at him, but even when he faced in the opposite direction, he could still feel that gaze burning through his skull. Charlie suddenly ran through all of the reasons that someone would hate him, why THIS man in particular would hate him. Was it the way he looked? Did he believe him to be like that Veruca girl and just pretend to have a bad life? Whatever it was, he seemed to absolutely despise him for it.

"Charlie!"

Grandpa Joe shouted, causing Charlie to jump as his head snapped upwards.

"Come on, we're going." Grandpa Joe uttered, clearly irritated, "And you're not coming back here anymore, if we find coins, then I'm buying the Wonka Bar."

Bill looked as though he had just given up, sitting in a chair with a face that displayed a mix of stress and surrender. Charlie liked Bill, he HAD decided. He was weird, and a bit creepy, but he was Charlie's friend. Other than his Grandpa Joe and his Grandma Georgina, Charlie had never had many friends...he'd had no friends at all in fact.

"Grandpa Joe...please..." uttered Charlie, "I'm sorry, I won't go into the back of the shop again-"

"No Charlie. My decision is final."

"Please Grandpa..."

"Charlie! I said it's final."

Charlie felt his lip quiver slightly.

"But he's my friend..."

"Charlie..."

"He's my only friend..."

Grandpa Joe paused, and Bill looked up, his eyes locking on Charlie, his face filled with disbelief. A few moments went by in pure silence, as both Charlie and Bill watched Joseph come to a decision.

"Charlie, we're leaving."

Charlie's head dropped down. He had enjoyed the day, it had been a good birthday he thought, a shame it had to end like this.

"Ok..." Charlie muttered as he shuffled lazily over to his Grandpa.

"Wait..." Bill pushed himself to his feet, getting on level with Joseph again, "I know you won't forgive me, I'm sorry for offending you, and I'm sorry for offending your grandson...he deserves a Golden Ticket...he does. But thing is...what's the chance he's gonna get a Golden Ticket at this rate?"

Grandpa Joe scowled, "Don't you think you've hurt the boy enough?"

"No, listen, please..." Bill continued, "I owe him one, and I owe you...I've got an idea. How about I give the little lad a job here at the shop? A day's worth of work gets him a Wonka Bar? Sound good? I could do with a hand around the shop is all, and he seems like he needs something to do...plus, he has a better chance at getting a Golden Ticket..."

Charlie loved it. Yes! He thought, it was perfect. He didn't mind doing work at all, he did plenty enough already, and plus, this would mean a Wonka Bar a day. A Wonka Bar was easily enough to feed him, his Grandpa Joe and Grandma Georgina, and plus it would taste absolutely wonderful. Plus, a Golden Ticket could come his way. This way, he had a far better chance at getting that life changing oppurtunity. Oh, this was brilliant. It was magnificent. Charlie couldn't wait to get started!

"No."

Charlie's heart exploded. Did Grandpa Joe just say that?

"But sir..." Bill replied.

"No." repeated Grandpa Joe.

Charlie just looked up at his Grandfather, his eyes stretched wide with worry and shock.

"He's not coming here again. Look at these posters you have up around your room. You have a woman's face on your dart board, with darts in it..." Grandpa Joe continued.

"That's no woman...that's the bloody devil..." Bill replied, "...just saying."

"I don't want my boy to spend more than a second with a bad influence like you..."

"Grandpa!" Charlie blurted out, forgetting himself, "Bill's not a bad person! He's nice! He is! I want to work here! Please! I can get food for me, you and Grandma, I can get a Golden Ticket! Please Grandpa!"

"We can find a Golden Ticket on our own..."

"No we can't! Bill's right! We'll never find one! I only got one today because we happened to find a coin..." Charlie felt tears cut through his dirt caked cheeks, "Grandpa...please..."

"Charlie, I've made my decision!"

"And I've made mine!" Charlie screamed all too loud.

Silence.

"I beg your pardon?"

Charlie froze. What had he done? Oh god what had he done? He saw the stare his Grandpa gave him now, and it terrified him. He tried to mutter an apology, but he could barely breath.

"My goodness! See, this is what I mean! You've not even spent an hour with the man and you're already acting like this!" Grandpa Joe shouted, "You sound like that Veruca girl!"

"This isn't because of Bill!" Charlie cried back, "This is because I know that this is my only chance..."

Charlie was scared, he was shaking, he felt like collapsing or throwing up. His face was mashed with red, and tears dripped to the floor as they drained from the sea of his eyes.

"One day I'll wake up and Grandma Georgina will be dead...

"Charlie!"

"Then not much later you will be too...once that happens, how long til I do? How long will I be able to hold myself up for?"

Grandpa Joe's eyebrows narrowed backwards. He didn't know at all what to say.

"If I get a Golden Ticket...that doesn't have to happen...my life can change. I know that's what you want Grandpa...I know you want me to live the best I can. You may be mad at me right now but...if you don't let me do this you'll feel guilty, you'll regret it...you will...I know it..."

Grandpa Joe stared at his grandson.

"Please Grandpa Joe, let me do it...please...".

Please say yes...please say yes...please say yes...

"...Okay..."

Charlie was hugging his Grandfather before he even knew what was happening. Grandpa Joe just looked down on him, wet eyes.

"I'm sorry Charlie..."

"It's ok Grandpa Joe."


	11. Chapter 11: Enter

**Longest chapter yet coming up, so brace yourselves! Over 3000 words this one, but I don't think it will keep this record. Been a while since I posted the last chapter, I know, but exams have been pretty rough this week and as much as I absolutely love this story, my future is my first priority, so thanks for being patient. Thanks again to those who have reviewed, followed, and favourited! **

**Oleander Grimm: That's perfect. When I know I can create that effect it just warms me up, I can't deny that I was really trying my absolute hardest to create an upsetting chapter, but it's nice to know my effort paid off! Thanks so much!**

**Dylan: Bitter-sweet I'd say. I'd go into detail but this chapter actually does that for me.**

**Guest: I can see your confusion. The chapter was originally named 'And That's Final' because it was a quote from Grandpa Joe in the chapter, it wasn't because it was the last chapter. I understood the confusion and changed the chapter name, I hope it didn't catch out anyone else. Sorry about that!**

**LuckyDuck932: Bill will play a very significant role in this story to come, so yes, he will continue to appear. I've always been a fan of the story since I was a little kid, so I've got quite a large interest in it. I've always thought about different ways the children could be portrayed, how the entire could be portrayed in fact, and so I decided it was time to stop fantasizing and put it down on paper. I'm very glad you and many others enjoy it too! As for Mike, read below:**

**OK! So, I previously said Violet was the most changed character from any other source of media. I did initially think that, UNTIL I wrote this chapter. Yes, Mike does make his debut here, and I know a lot of people have been excited to see him, but he's certainly, in my opinion, the most changed from his counterparts in other media, BY FAR! I got a bit worried writing this chapter, just because of the difference with Mike, but if I didn't go through with it I'd regret it, I know it. Hopefully you guys will like the character just as much as I do. I think I've over hyped this a bit now...oops.**

**Oh and by the way, just to clear things up, I don't usually write with accents. If a character has an accent and they're speaking, it's very rare I'll change the writing style to fit that accent. I did do it with Bill a couple of chapters ago, but I regretted doing that because I just didn't think it worked. A lot of characters, including ones in this chapter, are from different places, but an accent won't be strongly shown because I don't like incorporating accents into my writing style. I just thought I'd get that out of the way to avoid confusion.**

**Anyway, here it is, Chapter 11:**

* * *

"Alright then, you can start tommorow."

Charlie remembered these words clear as day as he pranced home to the junkyard that night. He couldn't wait for work the next day, as evident by his glowing smile. Bill had gone slightly into more detail on what the job required before Charlie had left with his Grandpa. Stacking shelves, sweeping the floor, even working on the till in Bill's absence. Charlie knew how to do maths, whilst Grandpa Joe couldn't afford for Charlie to go to school, he ensured he still got his education. Five days a week Joseph would sit down with his Grandson and teach him basic maths, English, and especially History, one of Joseph's favourite subjects to teach. Charlie actually quite enjoyed it, I mean, it was a contrast to what he usually did...which was nothing...

Upon hearing Charlie's exciting news, Grandma Georgina was spurred into her own stories, explaining to Charlie about her own jobs. "Ooh...I'll tell you my first job" she started every sentence in her story with. It seemed that she had atleast six first careers, as far as her story was concerned, each as nonsensical as the last. Charlie was sure she even repeated HIS story. The boy listened anyway, smiling at the points he had to and just showing general interest.

Joseph just sat back, on a heap of rubbish, watching the two conversate. He watched Charlie, thinking about the events that had happened not too long ago, the ones that Charlie had seemingly forgotten about. Joe had never expected this from the boy. All of these years, he believed Charlie to be happy, has it all just been a facade? Of course it has been, how stupid could Joe have been? Charlie would have to be an idiot to not understand the horrors of his life, and an idiot he certainly isn't. Charlie knew just as well as Joseph did. He knew that his grandmother who had grasped him into one of her senseless stories would soon be gone. He knew that his Grandpa Joe would follow soon behind her. And then, himself. This was all Joseph could think about as he layed on a rotten pile of rubbish that night, attempting to go to sleep. He couldn't rid of those nightmarish thoughts of his grandson being terrified and alone, without the company of his grandparents, just waiting to die himself.

These thoughts continued into the next morning, as he saw his grandson merrily skip away, but not before giving a hug to his grandmother and Grandpa Joe himself.

"Have a good day at work" Joseph smiled.

"Will do Grandpa!" beemed Charlie, before he disapeared into the streets.

It was now that Grandpa Joe wanted a Golden Ticket just as much as Charlie.

"We need to get you a shower lad!" were some of the first words Bill spoke as Charlie entered the sweet shop for his first day at work, "You can't be wandering around this shop looking like that, you'll drive off customers. Plus, no offense, but you blooming stink."

Charlie just laughed, as did Bill, but he still made it known he wasn't joking. He lead Charlie into the back and into his bathroom, told him how to work the shower, and then left him with some fresh clothes before leaving to continue his duties.

Charlie looked around the room he was in, and he was amazed. It was clean and pearly white, it almost hurt his eyes, Charlie had never seen anything look so dazzling in his entire life. As Charlie pushed off his shoes and pulled off his socks, he suddenly felt the cold of the tiles below him on the soles of his feet, making him jump ever so slightly. The shower itself was the best feeling Charlie had ever had in his life, times by a hundred. He was so hypnotised by the feeling in fact, that Bill had to bang on the door and tell him to hurry up. Charlie finished up in the shower, ensuring to follow Bill's instructions of how to wash, before slipping on the clothing Bill had left for Charlie. As he was slipping this fresh wear on, he wondered how Bill had clothes in Charlie's size.

"Charlie! Come on lad!" Bill shouted again with another bang on the door.

"Sorry! I'm coming!" Charlie replied, pulling on the rest of his clothes quickly and running out, accidentally bumping into Bill.

"Watch where you're going Charlie!" Bill laughed, before taking a step back and examining the boy, "Bloody hell, it was hard to believe there was a little lad under all that dirt!"

Charlie smiled, he noticed how different he looked now. His hair was as long and scraggy as usual, but it was clearly blonde now, and was no longer dyed in rubbish. His face was bright and pale white, and he looked a lot more healthy now, despite the purple bags beneath his eyes and the dark and chapped lips. His fresh clothes were still a golden yellow, perhaps Bill had purposely chosen the colours for him to match his old wear. Charlie was again reminded of the question, about where the clothes in his size had came from, but Bill was already talking away before Charlie could ask.

"Come in, let's get you round front, you've got some shelves to stack." Bill gave Charlie a little pat on the back as he moved him through into the front of the shop.

"Bill, why do you have clothes in my size?" Charlie asked.

Bill suddenly paused, looking rather taken back by the question. He gave a rather awkward smile at Charlie, "I'll tell you later, let's just get a day of work done first Charlie, okay?"

"Alright" Charlie responded, hoping he hadn't hurt Bill's feelings. It seemed like a rather touchy topic to him, perhaps he had hoped Charlie never even noticed.

Charlie was directed to a series of rather large boxes, and from what he could see, there were about eleven or so. He looked up at Bill, who looked back down at him.

"They're mostly Wonka Bars, we get a new shipment every day because they sell so fast." Bill spoke up, "And the boxes are quite heavy, so if you need help carting them around just ask me or Arty."

"Arty?" Charlie responded.

"The security guy, it's not his real name but he prefers me to use it." Bill noticed the terror in Charlie's eyes, "Don't worry, he's not an axe murderer, he's just a little scary looking is all."

"I think he doesn't like me." Charlie added.

"And why would he not like you? He doesn't even know who you are."

"I don't know...it's just, how he looks at me."

Bill raised an eyebrow, "Well, in that case, just ask me then, I'll be happy to help."

"Okay, thanks, but I think I'll be alright..." Charlie said, as he looked up at Bill. Suddenly he smiled and gave the big man a hug, causing Bill to flinch backwards in surprise. "Thank you Bill! Thank you so much!"

"Uh, no problem Charlie..." Bill clearly didn't know how to react with the little boy's arms around his stomach. He pondered on whether he should hug him back or not, but Charlie was already off of him and over by the boxes before he could finish his decision.

The hours passed by, and Charlie enjoyed every moment. He enjoyed feeling clean, he enjoyed the odd conversations with Bill, he loved the warmth of the shop, he loved the sights and he loved the idea of getting a Wonka Bar at the end of the day. Bill was right when he had told Charlie about the amount of people who would be coming into the shop, every person from the whole village must have charged in, and they were picking Wonka Bars from the shelves faster than Charlie could stack.

The Security Guard, Arty, was staring at Charlie the entire time, the same way he always did. Charlie was in too good of a mood to let it phase him though, he just continued with the day, knowing how great it was going to be. And it was, by the time the day was finished and the shop was closed, Charlie was ready to open his Wonka Bar.

"You've got no pressure on you this time lad," Bill spoke up, "there's always tommorow if you don't get it today."

With that said, Charlie ripped the Wonka Bar open. It would've been the best thing in the whole world for Charlie to see a bright and shining Golden Ticket there and then, but he didn't, he just saw chocolate. Charlie hid his frown as he turned towards Bill, giving a shrug and croaking "Oh well."

"Like I said, there's always tommorow, it might turn out to be your lucky day." Bill said with a soft and sympathetic smile, "Here, come on, collect your paycheck."

Charlie froze, "What?"

Bill looked up, confused, "What?"

"My paycheck?"

"...Yeah...did you think I wasn't going to pay you?"

"I thought the Wonka Bar was my pay..."

"Charlie...what kind of person would I be if I forced a starving, homeless boy to do a day's full of work and then only payed him with one Wonka Bar at the end of the day?"

Charlie just stood there, perplexed. He was actually getting payed. This was an ACTUAL job.

"Now come on, collect it." Bill repeated, watching Charlie come towards the till. Bill handed him an envelope, with his name written onto it quickly in permanent marker.

"There's thirty pounds in there, and I know it may not seem like mu-"

"THIRTY POUNDS!?" Charlie boomed, "What!? Thirty pounds! Really!?"

"...yes..." Bill didn't know how to react.

"WE'RE RICH!"

"I wouldn't say that..."

"Thank you so much Bill! Thank you so much!"

"Umm, no problem lad..."

"I need to show Grandpa Joe and Grandma Georgina! Thanks Bill, bye!" were Charlie's last words before he zoomed out of the shop, leaving a very bewildered looking Bill in his wake. Charlie couldn't wait to get home and show his Grandpa this money, it would change everything. Thirty pounds? That was enough to feed them for a lifetime! Bread, milk, clean water, heck, maybe even a couple of treats here or there, or another Wonka Bar maybe? The possibilities were endless! Charlie was the happiest he had ever been in his whole, entire life.

"ONE MORE LEFT!"

Oh, how short lived it was.

"IT'S BEEN FOUND! THE FOURTH!"

Charlie stopped his giddy running upon hearing someone shout this. The Golden Tickets...that's what they have to be talking about.

"IT WAS ONLY YESTERDAY THE THIRD WAS FOUND!"

Charlie began running again, the television shop wasn't far away, he needed to see who had won the fourth Golden Ticket. As the wind ran through his bright blonde hair, Charlie began to think about the Golden Tickets. There was just one left now...just one...oh dear.

Like he expected, the television shop window was surrounded again, but without his Grandpa Joe, Charlie could slip between the crowd and make his way to the front. Getting a clear view of the numerous televisions through the window. The Golden Ticket winner themself was no where to be seen, just a reporter facing the camera, stood in front of a very average looking house. It was full of dull brick reds and stone blacks, and sported rather dusty windows that could have done with wiping. It certainly wasn't anything like had been seen with Veruca's home.

"The fourth Golden Ticket is GONE ladies and gentlemen! Found by seventeen year old Michael Tevyson, the lucky finder here in Limerick, Ireland! I guess you truly can call it the luck of the Irish!" spoke the reporter, "And here we have our man now, looking awfully caught off guard..."

Out walked the Golden Ticket winner himself, holding the shiny glittering prize in his hand. The reporter was quite accurate in his last statement, the boy looked surprisingly...surprising. He seemed not to have dressed up at all for the occasion. He wore what looked to have once been a white vest, that stuck to his skinny and bony frame, stained with black as though he had been swimming in a vat of oil. His skin itself looked no different, even that on his face, and he must have been smiling the entire time too because his teeth shared the same dark, oil smudged pattern. On the topic of his face, it certainly was odd. He wasn't funny looking...it was just the expression he wore that was unsettling. Wide eyes that allowed two dark grey eyes to peer over the world, thin eyebrows that looked like spears, a shrivelled up nose, and to top it all off, a wide, beaming smile that stretched ear to ear, displaying a set of yellow gnashers. His hair gave away the same impression too, as it pointed scarily into the air from the top of his head, looking like a dark black pit of spikes. He looked similar to Charlie in weight, but he was far taller and much more lanky, making him look very skeletal. His unsettling facial expression remained as he neared the reporter, holding his Golden Ticket in front of his face as he moved up to the camera.

"And here he is now, Michael Tevyson, the fourth Golden Ticket wi-"

"Thankyou!" Michael shouted excitedly, the smile just growing wider, "But I would very very very much prefer...if you could call me Mike!"

"Umm...ok..." the reporter replied, giving the same reaction to the boy as the audience did. His ideolect was very wierd, filled with dramatic pauses and over pronunciation of words. He was scarily enthusiastic.

"Or...better yet...Doctor T.V.! It's a new name I've been whizzing around...rolls off the tongue I think, very well...very very well...try it..."

"Umm...Doctor T.V.? That's a...cool name..."

"Yes! Very much so..."

"Why the Doctor title though...can I ask?"

"You can ask if you'd like..." Mike exclaimed loudly, "It's because I'm a Doctor! Silly!"

Mike started to laugh hysterically, as though what he had just said was the epitome of jokes. His laugh was loud, enthusiastic, sinister, and went on for all too long. He stopped suddenly, wiping the saliva that had spewed up onto his lips with his oil coated hand, and just stared at the interviewer.

"Is there anything else you would like to ask myself, kind sir?"

Charlie was very unsettled where he stood. The boy had done nothing wrong but, how he acted, how he looked, it just sent a shiver down Charlie's spine. It was moments like these he wished he could grab his Grandpa Joe's hand, or look to him for comfort, but instead he was there all by himself. If Charlie did turn around though, if his eyes weren't so unfortunately locked onto the television screen, he would see that everyone else shared his expression.

"I'm sure that the entire world wants to know, how you won the Golden Ticket..." the reporter asked.

"Oh...yes...very interesting story...very very interesting...I'll tell you inside! Would you like to come in? My parents are waiting indoors for you, I'm sure they'd be absolutely delighted to meet you all!"

Without awaiting an answer, Mike turned his back to the cameras and moved inside, quietly chuckling to himself. The reporter turned to the camera and beckoned it to follow, as did multiple other interviewers and camera crews.

"Welcome to the inside of my parent's home!" Mike proclaimed as he walked into what looked like a relatively normal looking living room.

"Your parents home?" asked one of the reporters, "Do you live elsewhere?"

"I do indeed..." Mike smiled, "Here, come, follow me...I'll lead you to my own domain!"

Mike moved onwards, forcing all of the reporters and their camera men to continue moving again. As they were moving, a reporter decided to begin asking questions then.

"What you're wearing, I can't help but say, doesn't look very much like you prepared for this interview."

"Ah! That's because I didn't. You caught me quite off guard I must say...I was in the middle of an invention..."

"An invention? You invent things?" asked another reporter.

"Oh yes, I find it an absolutely wonderful hobby!"

Charlie smiled. He loved to invent things too, well, not practically, more so in his head. If Charlie had the money, he'd love to put the things he created in his mind to work with a box of tools and the equipment needed. He and Mike seemed to have something in common, although that wasn't something Charlie enjoyed acknowledging.

"And what kind of things do you invent?"

"Oh...you'll soon see."

"Is that what you want to grow up to be? An inventor?"

"Actually...no. It's a hobby but not a line of work in my own opinion. I hope to join the army soon, put my expertise to work as a war doctor."

The crowd gave warm sounds, as did the reporters, even Charlie smiled a little. Mike may look weird, and act overly strange, but it seemed that there was a decent boy under that creepy facade. He wanted to join the army, fight for what he knew was right, help save the lives of dying soldiers. As lovely as it sounded, Charlie didn't like imagining being a patient to Doctor T.V.

"Your expertise?"

"Yes, I take quite a large interest in Biology as well...the human body...what an interesting thing...very...very interesting..."

Mike's eyes widened with a certain sense of desire, and the reporters all just paused in place, in silence. Mike suddenly turned to look at them, gave a quick smirk, before continuing onwards.

The group came to a door, an old, pale white door, looking nothing out of the ordinary. It was just a door...why did it unsettle Charlie so much? Mike reached out his hand and wrapped it around the door handle, opening the door with a creak, and revealing a set of stairs leading into darkness.

"What's down there?" gulped a reporter.

"Oh..." spoke Mike, a rather chilling tone on display, "you'll see..."

Mike slowly moved forward, each footstep causing the rotting wooden steps to creak loudly below him. His head turned sideways over his shoulder to look at the reporters behind him, and they froze under his glare.

"These stairs are a little...rickety...mind your step..."

A couple of nervous nods were given, before Mike turned back around and continued. The reporters continued after him with a much slower pace now, all looking at each other with puzzled and worried expressions. As they finally reached the bottom of the stairs, they were plunged into a hallway equally as dark. The only source of light came from a red neon sign at the end of the hallway, perched just above two double doors, that read 'Enter'.

"Let's do as the sign tells..." grinned Mike as he continued forward.

"Is this...what's this?" asked a reporter.

Mike waited until he reached the double doors before turning around to face the reporter who asked him the question.

"This..." Mike laughed, "This is MY home! My parents are waiting right inside here..."

Mike leaned in towards one of the reporters, scarily close, his breath rippling on the skin of their face.

"Let's go and greet them!"

Mike turned back towards the two doors, before placing a hand on either one of them, and pushing them open. Mike charged into the room with excitement, the cameras following closely behind him.

"Ladies and gentlemen..."

The crowd around Charlie gasped, even Charlie felt his breath catch in his throat.

"Welcome to the land of wonder..."

The room was a dark, mechanical red. A large space that looked small and clausterphobic, constructed from harsh concrete.

"A place just as magical as Wonka's..."

Within the room stood colossal iron contraptions, fitted withspikes, drills, blades, large cogs, wires, screws and bolts, and worst of all, a place for a human being to fit inside.

"A place where Golden Tickets aren't needed for a tour..."

These creations were coated in oil, rust and sweat, and the stubborn red lighting of the room masked whatever else could be splattered over them.

"What is this?"

Mike turned around, his eyes larger, his grin wider, his true form now showing through the evil glint in his eye.

"This..." Mike echoed, "is Doctor T.V.'s Factory of Pain!"


End file.
